My Ending is My Beginning
by hippiechick2112
Summary: When the news of Warrick's death reaches Maggie O'Keefe, she returns to Las Vegas to reunite with her old co-workers, where love seems to ignite once more. But when kidnapping and murder happens afterward, it's up to her and the team to solve it. Second story of two in "Target and Assassination".
1. Prologue: May, 2008

**My Ending is My Beginning**

**Note and Disclaimer: I obviously don't own the character to C.S.I., but the character of Maggie O'Keefe and other fictional characters I have created DO belong to me, so if want to use them, please email me with permission first. This is the second story featuring Maggie, set a few years after leaving Vegas. Enjoy and many thanks!**

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Prologue: May, 2008

_So, here I am again, on another plane heading back to Las Vegas. And this time, after more than three years of leaving it all behind, I'm finally coming back to the city I left behind, a city I thought I'd be leaving behind for good once I came back to live in Connecticut again._

_I was wrong, _so _wrong. And it happened like this…_

_Almost a week ago, I had a call from Gil Grissom, the night shift supervisor from the Las Vegas crime lab (he has been keeping in touch with me on occasion after I left Sin City a few years before). Crying softly – unusual for him, as I've always seen him stoic or interested in his insect collection in his office – he told me of the murder of Warrick Brown and how he found him in his car in an alleyway, shot in the driver side. Grissom had dragged Warrick out of the car and tried to get him to talk, but he had nothing but garbled words._

_Grissom's voice kept cracking, telling me how much he'd miss the C.S.I. and the torment he went through, trying to get his co-worker to talk about his murderer and what happened, but nothing else came out of his mouth. Warrick had died in Grissom's bloodied arms._

_I was devastated. Warrick Brown had been kind to me, although we had a rocky start when I began working on the night shift with him. He kept Nick in check for me when we had our relationship. Well, even before then, Warrick kept a good eye out and was caring to everybody around him. He told me once that Grissom had taught him that – always indirectly, of course, in a way – and it helped him to thaw out his icy heart. He had a rough childhood in Vegas, I was told, and certain behaviors on cases were brought out by his upbringing._

"_The funeral is in a week," Grissom said, trying to control himself after a few minutes of silence. "The investigation into his murder has been concluded. We found out that there had been moles in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and…and they framed Warrick…"_

"_Shhh, Grissom, it's ok." I sounded like I was comforting my son, Michael, when he was upset and wanted somebody to just hold him. "I understand. It's ok. I'll be there as soon as I can. I'll take the first flight out of here."_

_Of course, the first flight out of Connecticut wasn't until a few days later. I wanted to go immediately – trying to explain everything to my nearly four-year-old son was tough – but it was impossible to go at that rate. Watching my step in the South End of Hartford was one thing. Another was trying to persuade my boyfriend, Eric Jacobson, to fly out to Vegas._

_I couldn't leave and take my child out without his permission, really. I was stuck in our crappy apartment until he said so. That's a long story, though, and for another time._

_And, well, I thought he was going to be pleased about flying out to Vegas. On the contrary, he was actually interested in _moving_ there. He didn't want to visit the place. He wanted to live there, all of a sudden. Hartford seemed too poor for him._

"_I was thinking about moving out to Vegas, anyhow," Eric said when I told him about the tragedy that fell upon my old friends, ignoring the fact that Warrick was murdered. "You could get your old job back, Maggie. Think about it. Go to the funeral, see them and ask for your job back. It's simple. You made enough money, much more so than here, and it's helped you get to a good start here. You had enough money for the three of us for a while there."_

_I gritted my teeth in reply, knowing I worked with the crime lab in Hartford for little money, as they heeded the words of Sheriff Mobley – gone, I heard – and Conrad Ecklie, my enemies back in Las Vegas. They said I was dangerous and my old – and new, of course – colleagues here listened to them, regardless of what I said. They ignored Grissom's words, of course, and went straight to the top._

"_I might even get a job," Eric mused further, because I had not replied, thinking about the casinos, for sure. I knew he wasn't serious about working. He never had been._

"_It's the end of Daycare for Michael," I added, thinking quickly to please this alcoholic boyfriend of mine. "He could start anew in Vegas again. It's easy to get an apartment there. I have the money to put in a security deposit. We could live for about a few months before I run out of money."_

"_Then do it!" Eric then, very suddenly, became the vengeful nightmare of mine: his red, flushing face was threatening me, scaring me. So, I obeyed him in an instant, obtaining an apartment via Craig's List and buying three tickets to Vegas online._

_My boyfriend was pleased with me when I told him the news the next day, after sleeping off his hangover. It was a nightly thing, and I joined him when I got someone to watch Michael for a while, but it was rare. And that night, I ignored the invitation to join him and slept._

"_Good girl, Maggie, good girl," Eric said the next night when I came back from work, praising me for being quick. "You've been getting better about obeying me. Just remember, I know what's best for you and Michael. You've been living a tough life before I came into the picture. Since you left that scumbag of a C.S.I., you've been better off. Don't you agree with me? I've been good to Michael and you, haven't I?"_

"_Oh, yes, yes, Eric," I replied automatically. "Now, honey dear, do you need anything from the store?" I had to ask it quickly, for Eric was always asking for food, beverages and liquor (something to cool him down when he didn't go to the bar). His poker buddies needed it, as well, and I had to keep on top of it._

_A reply came to me, in the form of his back hand to my face. As I was sitting at the computer chair, showing him the results for proof of my obedience, I twisted backwards, hurting my neck and back._

"_Of course I do, you little bitch!" Eric yelled. "Get out there, take the child, and get me come beer! And while you're at it, why don't you also get some sandwich meat and cheese? We're good on bread, but we need that stuff! Move on, Maggie, move it!"_

_I couldn't move, because he was in the way, but I slid out quickly, like a rat, around him, trying so hard not to displease him again. I especially did not want him to touch my son, the son of my parents' murderer: Jason Napolitano. I had protected him for the time Eric and I had been together, but it wasn't going to be long before he got to my son. I know it. I know in my heart that Michael was never going to be safe until Eric was gone from our lives. I just didn't know how to get rid of him…yet._

"_Move it, Maggie! Hey, did I mention I wanted chips and dip as well?" I ran to Michael's room as I heard the reply, telling my child quickly to put some shoes on; we were going out to the store really fast._

"_Why, Mommy?" Michael asked me as he sat on the bed. "Why are we going out now?"_

"_Because I said so," I almost snapped, but kept calm when I said it. "Eric wants some food and we're running low on it. We have to make dinner tonight, remember, Pumpkin?"_

_Michael jumped off of the bed and got his shoes out of his closet and held them out for me to put on and tie. "Oh, Michael, please, we have to hurry," I mumbled. "I'll tie them quickly. Let's go, Mommy wants to talk to you about moving away from here…"_

_And this is how I am back on a plane, heading back to Vegas. I talked to my son about moving, he accepted it (he did not like Hartford, I could tell) and we got on a plane to go to Vegas. We've been on this plane for about an hour now, my ass is sore, and I'm worrying. Oh, I really shouldn't, because my grieving will end and I'll be happier in Vegas, if you want to say that. I'll have another job, for sure, and will be happily working. I'll be happy with the new challenges facing me every time I go to work…_

_Who the HELL am I kidding? Life there will be hell, soon enough, and I have Eric to blame for it. Sure, I love the asshole. We got together two years before, when Michael was two. Meeting him at our favorite bar (soon to be my nightmare, of course), Eric was charming, handsome and anything else I could ask for when we met and I fell in love, the fool that I am. He helped me with the baby and would never complain about it…until a few months after I moved in with him in Hartford, started working at the crime lab again and slowly, let him take control of my life._

_Well, I guess the best part about it this is my best friend, Ursula Kearns. She's been my best friend ever since I moved back to Hartford and has been working with me in the crime lab for the same amount of time. We share everything together – the same way Jackie Polsen and I did, a very long time ago – and she helps me, when I need it. She's also the only person Eric allows me to see. He likes her, too – pasty white skin, black eyes (well, almost), dark brown hair and an allure that will arouse any man – and allows her to come to our apartment any time of the day._

_She's coming with us. Ursula is coming with me because she didn't want to be left behind in Hartford. I should be rejoicing. I mean, she gave up her job to be with me and to, hopefully, work with me, and yet…something isn't right here. I know there is something wrong here, but I don't know what yet._

_I guess we'll find out when we get to Las Vegas._


	2. Back In Las Vegas Again

Maggie, Ursula, Eric and Michael stepped off of the plane when they had reached Las Vegas, their final destination. Stretching and tired out and yawning as they walked (all had napped, but were still tired), the foursome went to the gates, ignoring the crowds (mostly tourists, Maggie knew) around them, and stopped inside of the airport, grabbing a bench near the restaurants. Maggie seated Michael on the end of the bench, standing up with her bag. Ursula and Eric took the other end, draping their own baggage on the end of the bench.

Ursula smiled, looking around. "So, Maggie, you haven't told me about how you lived in Vegas," she squealed, excited to be with her best friend. "Eric was telling me you lived there while you were sleeping on the plane. I mean, as a teenager, it must have been boring a little, but when you got _back_, it must have been _amazing_!"

Maggie, trying to get her purse out of her carry-on bag and seeing if she could get Michael some food (_Where the hell did I leave my money?_), stopped fidgeting. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I've lived here before. It was for a year in high school and then I came back some years ago to get some things settled down. You know the rest." She gave Ursula a look – one that told her to keep quiet, unless she wanted Eric to ask questions – and went back to the task at hand.

"I'm just happy to be here," Eric mumbled, suddenly turning his head to watch Maggie fumble with her purse as she got it out of her carry-on bag. "Maggie, hand the purse over. I'll take the kid out to lunch. Just stay here. I'll bring some food when Michael's done."

Eric got up and grabbed Maggie's purse straight out of her hands, then taking Michael's hand and dragging him to the nearest pizza place, the child whimpering as he was dragged. Maggie just looked at them both, without saying a word, and then sat down next to Ursula, silent.

"Why do you let him do that?" Ursula asked quietly as the couple left.

Maggie felt tears run down her face quickly and without reason. "I don't know," she whispered back. "I don't know, Ursula. I love him. I don't know why."

"You're going to lose your child if it keeps up…" Ursula trailed her statement, but stopped. "Child Services are not nice people. You know that. And since you seem to have a nice record, they're going to use it against you. You have no idea, Maggie. My ex-husband was cruel to me, too. He took my twins away from me because of some incident, when I was four like Michael, and they put it on record. You know, I was jealous of my brother being born and taking my mother away from me that I tried smothering him with a pillow. Luckily, my stepfather sensed something was wrong and caught me in time."

"You've never been a person to share with others. Your father taught you that before you left, huh?" Maggie laughed. Her tears were still on her face. "You don't share well, either."

"Yes, I didn't share my children well with my ex," Ursula replied, trying to laugh as well. "He was an abusive bastard and, when we went to court for custody at the divorce hearings, he used it against me and Child Services took my twins away from me. They thought I was a dangerous mother."

"But you aren't," Maggie remembered, knowing Ursula's twin girls were the only happiness she had before moving to Hartford and meeting Maggie. "Well, I know you're not dangerous."

"Yes, I know, and I know you're not either." Ursula sighed. "Michael looks enough like Eric for him to say that he's his child. And, without a DNA test, the man could take your child away from him and you won't see him again, like I can't see Yvette and Pamela."

"He could." Maggie became quiet, twisting her black hair into knots as she took hold of it. "But _we_ all know he's the son of Jason Napolitano. I mean, little things about his father are there, strange things that I remembered. Like, I don't know, Michael likes shredded cheese on his sandwiches instead of sliced cheese. It was something Jason always complained about in the school cafeteria when they had sandwiches for lunch, like he couldn't think of making his own lunch." Maggie paused, remembering. "He once played a prank on the cafeteria ladies and dumped sliced cheese from the school roof on them when entering to make breakfast. It was like, five in the morning, but they knew who it was."

The other woman giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. Her dark brown hair even shook as she finally let it out, breaking some of the tension.

Maggie smiled too. "I don't know what else to tell Michael. It was hard enough to tell him that his father was dead and that Eric is someone I love and should be a father figure. He doesn't understand why and neither do I. I was thinking, when Michael was older, that I'd tell him everything, but being four years old…almost…is too much. I can't do it to him. It's not fair to him at all."

Ursula entwined her fingers into Maggie's as she scooted closer, taking her friend's thinning figures out of the black hair, already with white strands. "Shhh, Maggie. It'll be ok. Right now, I think you should worry about the funeral and seeing your old co-workers. Plus, you have a new apartment to worry over and a child to put in school after the summer ends. I mean, Michael is starting Pre-School in September and next year, Kindergarten! He's growing up!"

"Yeah, he's growing up _too_ fast," Maggie replied. "It seems like yesterday I was in labor with him, for _hours_. And then I was fine and Nick was with me and…" She stopped, choking back a sob as she tightened her fingers around Ursula's.

Her friend shuddered for some unknown reason, but continued to comfort Maggie, allowing the tears to wet her shoulder. Ursula herself knew something was wrong with coming here, but she felt no choice. She felt as if it was her destiny.

~00~

Driving to their new apartment – Ursula was going to live with the threesome before she found her own place – out on East Tropicana Avenue, Maggie drove past familiar sites, scenes and smells of Las Vegas, all never changing except the name on the buildings. Casinos, restaurants, hotels and the like graced her eyes once more as she passed them, knowing that her son was intently plastering his face on the rental car's window, practically drinking in everything in the city.

"It looks like Michael's enjoying himself," Ursula commented from the front passenger seat, looking back to Eric, sleeping in the back seat of the care again. _He wasn't paying attention. Good for us, especially for Maggie. She needs some privacy, especially to talk to someone._

"Am not," Michael whined, but his glance still was on the casino they passed. "It looks like home, Ursula, but it's busier. I thought it was going to be better for us. Mommy said so."

"It is, sweetie," Maggie replied, trying to concentrate on her driving and not yelling curses out the window at idiot drivers and traffic ahead of them. "This is the city part. We'll be in our new home soon enough. It is fifteen minutes away. And it's nice, Michael, I promise. I used to live here, in a nicer area."

Michael didn't reply but continued looking out the window, allowing Ursula to reply for him. "Oh, Maggie, he'll love it here. I already do. So, _are_ we there yet?"

Laughing like kids again, Maggie answered, "Soon enough, Ursula, soon enough. If we get there in fifteen minutes, I'll be happy. If I had _my_ way, we'd be there in five minutes."

"But, fifteen minutes is too long!" Ursula snickered, trying not to instigate anything with the child in the back seat, but failed when Michael laughed along with them, giggling.

Suddenly, as they laughed, Maggie's cell phone rang, showing Grissom's number on the screen, making all three stop their silliness. Since traffic was not moving (and the law said nothing about talking in traffic), Maggie picked it up immediately. "Hello?"

"Ah, Maggie," Grissom relied quickly, without greeting. "Are you in town yet?"

"Umm, yes, I am." Maggie moved the phone from her right ear to the left and kept her eyes on the road, in case traffic moved again. "What's up, Grissom? Is the…funeral…earlier than I thought? I didn't miss it, did I?" She tried not to break down on the phone – knowing she'll have to let it out somehow – and kept a stony face so nobody knew her emotions.

"No, oh, no," the night shift supervisor replied. "It's in three days. I am wondering if you brought your family with you."

"I brought my boyfriend, son and a friend from the Hartford lab." Maggie felt confused. "Why are you asking? We bought an apartment here in the city and are heading there now. I'm only talking to you because traffic is horrible and we're stuck here."

Grissom was silent for a moment – pausing before talking, Maggie knew – before saying, "If you could, I need to talk to you. Meet me in my office tomorrow or the day after, if you could." With that, he hung up.

Maggie, as well, hung up and put her phone back in her purse as traffic moved in front of her. _That was weird. But, thank GOD, traffic is moving again. Come on, come on, you can keep moving! I hate you all, but I have to get to our new apartment and settle down for once. Come on, come on, you all can move faster!_

"What was that about?" Ursula finally asked as Maggie found a lane that would get them to their new residential street. The right lane was finally opening up and she took the chance.

The other C.S.I. shrugged her shoulders, sighing. "Oh, I don't know. It was Grissom. He asked me to come talk to him tomorrow or the day after. What it's about, I don't know."

"Well, I guess you'll find out soon enough," Ursula replied as a driver cut Maggie off, finally allowing her to curse, ignoring Michael's complaints in the back seat about how his mother was talking like Eric.

ea6f77c9-04f7-4cf2-ae01-460ee0a946ea

1.03.01


	3. Word Travels Fast

The pair of old Hartford C.S.I.s drove to see Grissom at the crime lab the next day, when they knew that Eric was fast asleep and would not miss them. However, their only disadvantage was bringing Michael with them, who did not whine, as he usually did, but stayed quiet and behaved on the way there, bringing both relief in many forms.

"Do we have to bring him?" Ursula asked as they sat in the kitchen of the new apartment. She, knowing, from experience, always said that a child shouldn't be at a crime lab. "He's going to be running around and getting into everything. Come on, Maggie, Michael is four years old…well, almost now. You're going to have to be holding his hand and making sure that he doesn't get into everything all the time or making sure that he doesn't get lost in a lab like that. And, from what I've gathered, talking with Grissom is usually a chore itself. How can you handle those things at once when I'm looking around?"

Boxes were thrown across every corner and dirty dishes already piling up in the sink, their kitchen seemed like a disaster zone, which always made Maggie frustrated. She, who had been sitting in a kitchen chair, looked up from tying her shoes and gave Ursula a murderous face, slightly irritated about the question on top of the room being a total mess. _Why the hell am I asked this? Do I have a choice in leaving Michael here? He's my child and my responsibility. Of course, I'm taking him if Eric is irresponsible._

"Eric isn't going to watch him," she hissed back quietly, knowing that Eric was sleeping on a couch in the next room and bound to hear them if the conversation was loud enough for him to eavesdrop on. "So, Michael is bound to get into everything. You're right: he's four year old. He's just a boy. But, you can't pin a criminal label on him, Ursula. His father may have been a mass murderer, and he's a little like him – the little things, for sure – but you can't instigate and then expect him to be behaving himself like an angel either."

Ursula grumbled about something concerning Maggie's old enemy, and then giggled, changing her mood instantly.

"What?" Maggie asked, smiling and forgetting her irritations for the moment.

"Say, doesn't Nick Stokes still work there?" Ursula giggled again, covering her mouth to avoid waking Eric up. "You know: your former flame."

_Yes, he may be my former "flame", but he and I parted on some bad terms the last time we met. We were too immature to be together and left each other at the worst possible moment: when we had to work together to bring up a baby. That was why I moved back to Connecticut. I wanted to be away and forget everything. And then, I met Eric, who swept me off of my feet and pretended to be a good guy like Nick, and here I am, tired of the bullshit and wishing I could leave him. But, how can I? He's threatened Child Services on me. And I love my child dearly, even though he's the son of Jason Napolitano and not Nick Stokes._

"I don't know if Nick is still working with Grissom now, but I'm sure of it." Maggie finished tying her sneakers and stood up, wishing that Nick was still there, for some reason. "Come on, we have to go in a minute. Michael is at the door."

A few minutes later, after arguing about silly things and laughing, the two friends were on the road with Michael. Luckily for Ursula and Maggie, traffic was light (they got to their destination in no time flat, for once) and the child was behaving himself as they parked the car at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's parking garage. Maggie was especially grateful that Michael held her hand when she asked him for it and that Ursula did not giggle over her relationship with Nick. However, the possibility of meeting Nick again was making Maggie's stomach twist with pain.

Maggie's nervousness was obvious to Ursula, who saw her pale face when they entered the building and checked with the front desk about Grissom's whereabouts and received their visitors' badges. "Maggie, why don't I take Michael out to find Grissom? The ladies' room is bound to be somewhere. You look horrible enough to stay in there for days."

"I remember," Maggie replied, visioning it a few hallways down. "Yeah, take Michael." She then looked to her son, kneeling and causing her stomach more pain. "Remember, Michael, please behave for Ursula. Be polite to everyone here. They're very nice people."

Ursula snickered – possibly recalling Maggie's troubles with Ecklie and Mobley, Maggie thought to herself – and took Michael's hand. The child himself did not protest and followed his mother's friend down another hallway. However, Maggie herself felt like throwing up badly. Her stomach had done a few flip-flops and was pushing her breakfast up already.

She got up from her kneeling position at the front hallways and ran to the ladies' room quickly, almost knocking into someone at the door, reaching her toilet just in time. _Good God, can I control anything? I mean, I'm just here to see Grissom. What's wrong with me?_

"Hey, there, I thought you were done with that a few years ago," a voice behind her said, the same person who Maggie bumped into. "Or, am I missing something here?"

The person was also holding onto her black hair as Maggie finished throwing up, a few minutes later. After she had wiped her mouth with some toilet paper (_It's all thin still, as usual_), she turned to the person she bumped into, finding Catherine Willows smiling back at her, still wanting the answer to her question.

"Oh, my God, Catherine!" was all Maggie could say as she jumped up and embraced the older C.S.I. The two almost fell to the floor, but kept their balance, still sitting on the cold, tiled floor, however.

Catherine returned the embrace with hesitation at first – she hardened herself, especially after Warrick was murdered and the guilty party was revealed – but then accepted the gesture fully after a minute. "What are you doing here, Maggie?" she asked. "Isn't it dangerous for you to be here? Or, do you like the thrill of being here?"

"Grissom called a few times and…oh, my God, Catherine, it's been rough!" Maggie cried, tears running down her face again. "I heard about Warrick and I had to come back here for the funeral. I had to be here again. I took whatever flight I could and bought a place here and –"

"You're living here again?" Catherine broke the embrace, scratching her head afterward (Maggie noticing that she dyed it…again). "What are you doing to do now?"

"I don't know, Catherine, I don't know." Maggie wiped the tears from her face. "It's one step at a time, I guess. I needed baby steps." Looking back at the unflushed toilet, she added, "I was also just so nervous coming here and I couldn't help it."

"Nick," the older C.S.I. plainly stated, making Maggie shudder almost (Catherine most certainly saw a slight shiver). "Maggie, to be truthful…he's been a basket case since you've left. He's regretted everything he's done to you and has been trying to contact you for a few years now. I don't know what this will mean to him now that you're back in Vegas…"

Maggie shook her black head, showing a surprised Catherine how much she had aged. _What had happened to her? Grissom said she was in some tough spots here and there, but did not mention anything else. What's going on with her? What's Nick going to do now?_

"I need to see Grissom now." Maggie got up, suddenly tired, her legs shaking. Catherine got up with her, to make sure she didn't fall down again.

_Nick would appreciate it…and then want to know this sometime. He's been wanting to see her for some time now. But, I can't tell him just yet. Losing Warrick like that, his best friend…we all felt this loss just as much as he did, especially Grissom. God, Maggie is going to be at the funeral. I know it. What can I do?_

"He should be in his office, or outside of it, at least," Catherine offered. "The last I saw, he was with Ursula Kearns and your son."

Maggie was about to exit the stall, but then stopped in his tracks, turning back to face Catherine. "How did you know _that_?" she asked, confused and surprised at the same time.

Catherine just shook her head and smiled again. "Sometimes, word gets around the lab pretty fast. Don't you remember that? Or, did you forget everything already?"


	4. To Have and Hold

Maggie practically ran out of the ladies' room with Catherine coming behind her (the younger woman lost her in the sea of people around the hallways), trying to find Ursula again, and found it difficult with the crowds. She forgot about that, as well, remembering how hard it was to navigate on most days. _Dammit, why can't I navigate this easier? They always need bigger hallways and office space and –_

"Hey, there, little guy, whose son are you?" As soon as Maggie saw Ursula and Michael down the hallways where the offices are – with Grissom next to them – a voice was heard in her ears, directed to her son. "It's obvious that this person isn't your Mommy. She's too pretty to be your Mommy."

Maggie pushed her way through lab rats, detectives and other random people in front of her to reach Grissom. He saw her, of course, and nodded, but she also saw Nick…Nick Stokes…there as well, kneeling in front of her son, talking to him like a normal child. Nick had gone down to Michael's height, to make him feel like an equal, and played with him (a quarter had mysterious popped out of the child's ear and handed to him, so that he could play) as Ursula looked on nervously, knowing who it was. Grissom, of course, had his eyes on Maggie and her journey from the crowded hallways to the outside doorway of his office.

"I think you have my child right there." These were the first words Maggie had said to Nick in three years, addressing him about Michael, who was laughing about the tickling waterfall of the quarter in his ears, instead of behaving himself…like Maggie should have expected, but didn't, seeing him as a child prone to playing all the time.

_Because it's the way they are and I can't change it. I can't tell him otherwise. It's too cruel. He wasn't born when I was, so I have to be fair. My mother was old for a mother when I was born, oh, thirty-eight, I believe, and expected too much out of me, even when I was taken away from her. I shouldn't do the same. I shouldn't be so clingy and make him into a miniature adult at the same time. It's not fair. I have to Michael him be a child._

Nick looked up to her, his face impassive and stoic, fighting back emotion all the same. Maggie was trying to do the same, trying to keep an eye on her child (Michael continued to roll the quarters, except it was in his hands), but the pools in Nick's eyes attracted her once more. She couldn't help but be stuck in them again.

He stared back at her without saying a word, as if daring her to ask him something – a small flicker of anger that he showed in the past, and then sympathy for the present, in the pools – and smiled. And that smile was usually reserved for people Nick liked, Maggie knew, and when he smiled at her that way, she knew, somehow, that they should make up for everything. Nick looked like he wanted to, shocked as he was to see her again, after three years?

_Or would we? I don't know anymore. The smile is nice. But damn…I was pretty nasty to him. He was pretty nasty to me. We were in a tight spot. He was working nights, I was working days, there was the baby, and money was tight all the time, especially when my pay was pretty low. The landlord wanted to kick him out because of everything, and he didn't want to go, but there's us. And…well, who is "us" now? Or, is there such thing anymore to him? Well, he's gotta be in a relationship or something. He doesn't need me. No, he doesn't. And I don't need him. I –_

"Maggie, won't we talk in my office?" Grissom motioned to the next door, where they all could discuss the events in private, before she could talk to Nick about anything else other than playing with her child…or, why she was back in Las Vegas.

The younger C.S.I. sighed, her companions otherwise preoccupied (Michael with his quarter and Ursula with her wringing hands). "Sure, Grissom…" she answered, taking Michael's hand out, out of Nick's hands, and walking away. Ursula followed the threesome, closing the door behind her when Grissom motioned her to.

Grissom sat down at his desk, the other three doing the same in the chairs around the desk. Michael swung his legs impatiently as he sat down, though, still playing with the quarter that Nick had pulled out of his ear moments before, wondering why his mother was acting strangely with the nice man. _He was very nice to me. Why was she being so weird?_

"What do you need to talk to me about?" Maggie asked, getting down to business immediately. "Grissom, you called me about the funeral, which is fine. I would have flown out anyhow." She choked back a sob quickly, remembering the details and the memories. "Now, you've asked to talk to me. It sounds pretty permanently. What's up?"

The night supervisor only folded his hands, smiling. "One of our C.S.I.'s here has quit her job, because of the job demands, and a veteran of the day shift has retired to Ecklie's demands. Not to mention, Warrick has passed on, with great regret." Grissom tried to keep a straight face, but Maggie saw the quick glance of regret before he continued. "I figured, with the record of your boyfriend there, you would have come back. And since we now have two experienced C.S.I.'s before me, I was going to ask you to come back and work on my team again."

Maggie's mouth dropped with surprise. Ursula did the same.

Grissom ignored their shocked reactions. "Mobley has been long gone, Maggie. And Ecklie has been waiting for someone to fill in for a while, as his shift is working now extra and 'unnecessary' hours. Since you don't get along with him, I suggested that you come back to my team and Ursula go to Ecklie's, since she has the better record and would help us when we need a bridge from one shift to the next."

"Won't he object?" Ursula found her voice, remembering Maggie's stories of old. "Wouldn't Conrad Ecklie object whole-heartedly about a former worker, with a 'bad' record, coming back to the Force?"

"It seems politically correct to say that Conrad Ecklie put the blame on the previous comments on Margaret O'Keefe on the former sheriff and is now scot-free of any scandal." Grissom smiled, his grey beard going up with the grin.

"I'm in then," Ursula replied instantly, smiling too and then nudging Maggie in the shoulder. "What about you? What do you think?"

"Huh?" Maggie was still shocked, the words f the two barely registering in her mind. "Oh, yeah, sure, I'm in, too." Then, Maggie almost smacked her forehead, forgetting about Nick, but stopped herself before her hand left her lap, something she knew that Grissom noticed (and, it being Grissom, Maggie figured he knew what it was for). "I'll take the night shift and Ursula will take the day. It's perfect, Grissom, thanks. But…why now?"

"Why not now?" Grissom got up. "'Now' is usually a good time to work out things. Ecklie has kindly mended your records and everything is settled for the time being. We were just waiting upon your words. Ursula, you'll start your shift tomorrow. Maggie, you start tonight. You know the drill, nothing much has changed except for the people from three years ago. Your office will be shared with Ursula, if you don't mind."

The two women exchanged smiled, Michael looking up at them and wondering.

Maggie kissed her son in the head. "I'll explain everything in the car, Sweets," she said, saying a nickname he hated dearly and has expressed his distaste about.

Michael shook his dark head instead of his usual complaining, hair about like his mother's, and then randomly pointed at the numerous cages in the office. "What are those?"

The three adults smiled, Maggie and Ursula almost laughing. "Well, if you ask Grissom nicely, maybe he can show you around the office," Maggie replied, almost laughing again and remembering what a disorganized mess Grissom's office had been when she was there…and how he loved insects.

Grissom held out his hand for the child as he walked around the desk. Michael got up and nervously took it, laughing nervously as the night supervisor, nervous as well, guided the child to a corner of his personal work space, pointing out the animal – the insects, Maggie saw – and named each one, according to their species, class, etc.

Ursula smiled again. "I'll watch out for him, Maggie," she promised, a hand on her heart, as if it was a serious oath. "Scout's honor. I'll be sure to keep a schedule going, just like you normally do with him."

"Thanks, Ursula." Maggie was silent, thinking about Nick. _We're working together again, which is another once-in-a-lifetime chance in hell. And I'm taking it. Why? Well, money is nice. Keeping my child out of danger is nice. Keeping Karen Napolitano out of my life is another. Well, she can help me with meeting Michael's half-siblings, but that's about it. Nothing more, nothing less out of that woman. I hated her then and I hate her now._

As if Grissom read her mind, he said, as he was showing Michael another corner of his office, "Maggie, Nick _is_ outside of the office. Make sure to straighten things out with him first, before giving me a permanent answer. You might regret it later, so find a private spot and come back to me when you're finished."

The two women almost laughed. "Sure, Grissom…" Maggie answered quietly, getting up. "Sure, I probably should have done so before. Where _are_ my manners these days?"

"In the gutter," Ursula added in a whisper, giggling.

ea6f77c9-04f7-4cf2-ae01-460ee0a946ea

1.03.01


	5. A Silent Return to Romance

_Come on, Maggie, old girl. Nick is just an old flame of yours, right? He and you got into some arguments and that was that, it ended a perfectly good relationship. You moved away to forget him. You have a new life now. You have a man who will take care of you and Michael, no matter what. What's wrong now? Why can't you just talk with Nick and be over with it? Eric won't mind. I mean, he'll just scowl and leave me alone…unless he doesn't know. And what he doesn't know won't hurt him, right? He'll just know we're working. That's it. It'll be ok._

When Maggie exited Grissom's office, she saw Nick, hands behind his back, pacing around the hallway in front of the door. He, too, looked nervous, like he had been waiting for this moment for a long time coming. He wanted to know if something was possible.

Maggie cleared her throat, feeling that connection back to Nick immediately, remembering her first day years back. "I have my old job back, if you and I can work together and play nice."

Nick stopped pacing, turning to face her. The nervousness on his face disappeared within moments and he actually smiled. His own thoughts, though, were as scattered as Maggie's were. _It's like the day we met almost, except we haven't made up and Maggie left me three years ago. Will this work? Grissom has had her in his heart and always wanted her back because of how good she was. Maggie was a good C.S.I. No, she was a _great_ C.S.I. And yet…there she is. The eyes are the same, all dark brown with the green spots in them. Her black hair is turning grey. And she's as slim as ever. What happened to her? God, where did those bruises on her neck come from? She's hiding it well. She isn't saying anything, though._

"I heard," Nick replied finally, walking towards Maggie with a hopeful look on his face. He wanted to embrace her, to hold her, but hesitated because he knew that she wasn't ready…yet. She didn't seem ready.

_Has he forgiven me finally? Can I forgive him? _Maggie crossed her arms, knowing what he wanted, but pushing back mentally. "Nick, look, we're not in a relationship anymore, so don't try anything. You know this as well as I do. We're professional people, so we're going to work as such. I'll be a friend to you and be nice, for everybody's sake. I'll be civil. We'll work together." She paused. "I'm doing this for Grissom's sake, because he needs people. And Ursula finally has a job with Ecklie and we've been working out a schedule for everything, like taking care of Michael and such. So, Nick…"

"Yes?" Nick was finally in front of her, smiling. "Yeah, I agree. Let's be nice and civil and all that. I'm just so sorry that things didn't turn out the way they did." He then frowned, thinking: _And sometimes I wish it did. Things would have been better for her…for us…if they did._

"Me, too," Maggie whispered. She cleared her throat. "If you want to visit, I live out on East Tropicana with my boyfriend, son and Ursula. Eric isn't too bad. He'll be fine with you visiting, just as long as you don't do anything stupid or anything like that. You know what I mean."

She chattered on about her home life and family as far as she knew (her brother and sister-in-law with children not talking to her still and the other starting to warm up again), Nick noticing that it was inane, interrupting her midsentence. _What's wrong with her? She isn't like this._ "Whoa, Maggie, what's up?" He put his hands up, Maggie noticing that he wasn't attached to anybody, as far as she knew. "Ok, so you just moved here. You're excited, for sure. But you're also talking in circles. Tell me, what's up?"

"Oh, nothing, just happy to be back, I guess." Maggie crossed her arms again. "Come on, Nick. I'm trying to be nice. See?"

"Yeah, I see a lot." Nick crossed his arms himself. "What's your boyfriend doing to you and Michael that's going to get Child Services coming?"

"Nothing, Nick, I swear! Eric's been good to me and Michael. He hasn't touched my son. I wouldn't let him, even if he tried." _Dammit, Nick has caught on quickly. He doesn't understand about Eric or anything. How can I make him comprehend the situation, though? It's dangerous to court Child Services, of course, but I'd rather have my child protected by someone who has been there than someone I broke up with and can't be there for me most of the time, even though he has custody of Michael if I die or am a vegetable. Well, he also has the power to pull that plug and kill me, too. I gave him that power a long time ago…and I think I'm still right._

The older Texan came up closer to Maggie – older, perhaps, and a little grey himself, but always the same Nick – touching her neck lightly with his fingertips, gently reminding himself how fragile life was, even enclosed in a coffin underground with a gun ready for him to use. He even noticed how she closed her eyes slowly, sighing at him with relief, as if the two were alone and together again and not in a crowded hallway, crawling with attention and eager to gossip. She put her arms around him finally and he returned the favor, both smiling. _She's ready, after all._

"So, we're friends again?" Maggie whispered, sighing again, sticking her face in the familiar corners of his neck.

"Sure," Nick replied, pushing her away (the action was mutual, as if Maggie knew when to stop). "I guess I'll see you tonight, right? You're in for a shift tonight, right? Grissom likes the new people to start as soon as possible, as you've noticed last time."

"Except, I'm not exactly new to the game of forensics and criminal science." Maggie paused. "I guess Las Vegas has been my promotion both times. I've been pushed down every time I've tried to get a job in a C.S.I. lab. I tried Miami again, but I was denied. Even New York City pushed me back to my humble beginnings. I stayed in Hartford until…until I got the call from Grissom. And I moved back here. So…here I am. I guess I'm here to stay."

"You won't run off again?" Nick had to know.

Another sigh escaped from his ex's lips. "I can't promise anything. No, I _won't_ promise you anything. All I _can_ promise is to take care of my son and Ursula and to do what I need to do in order to survive. Even if it means moving again and staying out of Las Vegas once more, I have to do it. It's not hard, Nick, to stay out of Nevada."

The door to Grissom's office then suddenly opened up, interrupting them. Michael, holding Ursula's hand, came out, chattering to his caretaker about the insect collection, pigs and other abnormal things in the office. Then, he saw his mother and ran to her. Maggie caught the child and picked him up, swinging him in the space allowed to her when some people – as well as Nick – cleared the hallway so that they could have time together.

"Mommy, it was _so_ cool! The bugs are all perfect and dead and –"

"I've seen them before, Sweets." Maggie almost made a face, remembering how she almost puked when she first saw the collection, sixteen at the time. Then, stopping to catch her breath, she added, "Why don't we go out for lunch and ice cream, just you, me, Ursula and Nick here? I'm sure Nick doesn't have anything to do but hang out here and put his hands in his pockets."

"Hey, I resent that!" Nick tipped his head back and laughed. "But, yeah, I don't have anything to do right now. Care if I squeeze into your car?"

"Sure," Ursula giggled, knowing what happened already and knowing what answer her best friend was going to give. Maggie, on the other hand, had assumed that her best friend was listening at the door as they talked, with Grissom shaking his head and showing her son the weird things in his office.

"We have plenty of room," Michael giggled. "Nick, can you show me another quarter?"

Nick came up to the duo slowly. "Sure, little guy. I won't want to cause more trouble for your Mom, though. I don't want to make a mess out of her car or give her another one of her famous headaches." His face then shone at Maggie asking her, _Please, please, please? I still love your son like he's all mine and not that dirty asshole's blood. I'll do anything for him, just as you've appointed me to do if you gone. I'll keep that promise._

The mother in Maggie was sighing with frustration, but the party girl in her was saying to do it. "I don't care. Just as long as there is no mess in the car and I can concentrate on driving."

Maggie then kissed her son on the cheek on impulse, watching Ursula grab the keys from her pocket (as well as carrying the purse she left in Grissom's office) and walk to the car, Nick following her closely, talking and asking Ursula questions. As Michael wiped it away, wishing that his mother wouldn't embarrass him like that, he had to face the man who showed him the bugs. His mother had called him "Grissom", so he assumed that that was what he was called.

"I take it things went well?" he asked Maggie, worried.

"Much better than I expected," she replied stiffly almost as she turned to face her supervisor, trying not to reveal more, her true feelings bubbling underneath and wanting more of Nick.

"Good, good. It'll make things easier for you." Grissom stood in the open door of his office quietly for a moment, then asking, "I've heard that you're friends again? Ursula seems to think so. She said it could happen."

"She always thinks the best of things. And to answer your unvoiced question, yes, I am still staying here and keeping my promise on the job offer. You don't need to worry about me, Grissom. I can take care of myself."

"Sometimes I wonder, Maggie," he answered with some humor, Sara coming to him with a file, smiling and waving at her co-worker with surprise etched into her face.


	6. Warrick's Funeral and Aftermath

_The funeral was horrible and I'm only glad it's over. Jesus, I'm glad it over._ Maggie walked out of the church quietly, Nick holding her upright by the arm (or was it her holding up Nick?). Ursula had declined to come to the funeral and Maggie didn't like Michael coming at his age just yet, so the former had volunteered to babysit as Eric slept in the bedroom, another night in the bar a distant memory to him. Ursula kept her son out of his sight by taking him to the park, just in case Eric woke up to the noises of a child and his babysitter.

She met everybody up again, thinking that she most likely saw some of them the day before: Doc Robbins, Hodges, Archie, Greg, Sara, Catherine, Grissom and even Jim Brass. And she still could not figure out the depth of their grief, the core of their beings as Grissom delivered a moving eulogy at the end of the Mass before the burial. Nick sat next to Maggie (Catherine on her other side), putting a familiar arm around her shoulders, as Grissom spoke the final words.

"As crime scene investigators, we meet people on the worst day of their lives. They've just lost a family member, somebody they loved, often in a horrible way. A piece of their heart is gone and will never be replaced. The phrase we're trained to offer them, 'I'm sorry for your loss', as we know now, doesn't offer much.

"Warrick Brown was a young boy when his parents passed away. Much too young to learn that life can be so tragically short. But I think that it taught him how precious life is, and so he lived his life to the fullest, each day as if it was his last day. I was with Warrick on his last day. All the qualities that defined him, his tenaciousness, his deep sense of loyalty, his courage to risk his life for what he knew was right…all those traits were with him on that last day. Just before he died, we were all having breakfast together. Our team. His friends. His family. And Warrick was... he was…"

Grissom sobbed for a moment before composing himself. "I'm going to miss him so much," he finally said.

Maggie felt her own tears fall again, closing her eyes to the reality. When she opened them again, the service was over and Warrick's casket was being sent out to be buried, the team following behind it slowly, their cars blinking the usual lights for a funeral. She and Nick were still arm-in-arm, holding each other together, Sara, Catherine, Hodges and Archie behind them as the two climbed into Catherine's car to go to the cemetery.

_And it's over. It's all over. All we have to do is watch Warrick be buried and it's over. It's still over…and yet, somehow, it'll never end. The pain will never leave us._

~00~_  
_

"I can't believe it, Nick." Maggie sipped her drink at a table at a local night club the next night, still aware of the pain from the funeral the day before and the unbelievable words she heard. Music also kept blaring in the background like a siren, her heart beating faster and faster (especially thinking of how generous Grissom was to give her and Nick the night off). It took her a few times to get her message across before Nick understood her and nodded.

"I know what you mean." He took a sip from his glass and smiled. "So, why does this little date have to be such a secret from your idiotic boyfriend?"

"I don't know," Maggie shrugged her shoulders, aware that, for most of the night, she had been silent, only nodding in consent when Nick asked her out the day before. "I'm still scared of Eric. I mean, he hasn't gotten so much as a job and sleeps all day if he's not yelling at somebody. And Warrick is in the ground…" She choked back a sob.

When Nick put a comforting hand on her shoulder, Maggie brushed it away quickly as tears came down her face. "No, Nick. I have to handle this myself. Let me talk." She paused and then sighed, wiping away the trails on her cheeks. "I'm tired of being frightened of him. I picked him up and dated him because he was a good guy at first. He was a gentleman and took me out places and was good with Michael. And then, things went worse from there after he moved in with me. He started hitting me and bullying me."

Nick's hand took Maggie's limp one on the table, tightening the grip. He said nothing, though, but the anger on his face was undeniable.

"Nick, please, don't do anything stupid," Maggie begged when she saw it. "I moved back here because I was full of hope. I was hoping that he'd clean up his act and, for once, get another job and support me. But, Las Vegas isn't the place for that, is it? He still goes to the casinos and gambles. Then, he comes to a place like this and drinks the money away. He steals, lies and cheats on me."

"Then get rid of him," Nick growled.

"It's easier said than done, Nick. I was hoping to kick him out of the apartment soon, since his own name is not on the lease for the apartment. Ursula and I own the apartment legally and since Michael is my son, he has a right to stay until he's eighteen. So, Eric's just a bum, sitting around. And he can be vicious. It's going to take time to slowly weed his own way out. It's effort on everybody's part." She took another sip of her drink with her other hand.

Nick let go of his grip and took a finger to Maggie's check, touching another bruise, a new one.

"Grissom is going notice this, Maggie."

"I think he knows, Nick. I have yet to talk with him about it."

_Why the hell are we speaking in small sentences now? We're adults now. Nick and I are adults. And this is the second time I went out with him, the first with just the two of us. Where am I going with this? Nowhere, it seems, because we've been broken up for three years. I was supposed to be mad at him, but I missed him. I missed him like crazy, no matter what._

A song came up, something that made Nick's ears perk up as he moved his finger away from Maggie's face. "Wanna dance?" he asked Maggie, standing up and holding out his hand: an offer to go join him.

"Sure…" Maggie stood up too, taking the large hand and walking to the dance floor, listening to the song and thinking: _This is our song. Jesus, this is our song. Why does Nick have to pick out songs to dance to that are ours?_

_In a way, I need a change  
From this burnout scene  
Another time, another town  
Another everything…  
But it's always back to you_

_Stumble out, in the night  
From the pouring rain  
Made the block, sat and thought  
There's more I need…  
It's always back to you_

_But I'm good without you  
Yeah, I'm good without you  
Yeah, yeah, yeah…_

_How many times can I break till I shatter?  
Over the line, can't define what I'm after  
I always turn the car around  
Give me a break  
Let me make my own pattern  
All that it takes is some time  
But I'm shattered  
I always turn the car around_

_I had no idea that the night  
Would take so damn long  
Took it out, on the street  
While the rain still falls  
Pushing me back to you_

_But I'm good without ya  
Yeah, I'm good without you  
Yeah, yeah, yeah…_

_How many times can I break till I shatter?  
Over the line, can't define what I'm after  
I always turn the car around  
Give me a break  
Let me make my own pattern  
All that it takes is some time  
But I'm shattered  
I always turn the car around_

_Oh, give it up, give it up, baby  
Give it up, give it up, now…_

_How many times can I break till I shatter?  
Over the line, can't define what I'm after  
I always turn the car around  
All that I feel is the realness I'm faking  
Taking my time  
But it's time that I'm wasting  
Always turn the car around_

_How many times can I break till I shatter?  
Over the line can't define what I'm after  
I always turn the car around_

_Don't wanna turn that car around  
I gotta turn this thing around…_

"Why do you always do this to me?" Maggie asked Nick softly, still holding onto him, even after the song had ended and everybody had cleared the floor.

"Because it's defined our relationship," was the reply. Then, something happened that Maggie had been waiting for all night: the kiss. And, to her, it felt better, felt _right_, after her years with Eric. Nick was still hers after so many fights, years and miles. And all she had to do was get rid of Eric and Nick was her again…_again_.

* * *

**Of course, thank you to Mma63 for her reviews for this story and the previous one ("The Long Road Home") and for reminding me to keep updating often, to keep reader interest. This chapter is for her. Many thanks! So, other people out there...review? Please? Please? I know you want to!**


	7. Decisions to Make

**I know that I've been pretty bad about updating this story. I'm super sorry about it! I've been VERY busy with school (semester is a few days away from ending and I have a couple of finals left) and have been busy with other stories that have caught my attention and needed to be finished. However, I swear that this one will have my attention finally, the attention it deserves. It'll be slow, but I think it'll be worth it. So...please review!**

* * *

"The door is locked. I wonder where Eric is now…" Maggie slowly unlocked the door to their apartment, letting her friend and son inside, the former wishing for rest and the latter wishing to stay up later than bedtime. Most of the lights were out, the kitchen letting a light yellow glare at them as the trio came inside, their faces bathed with the dull illumination.

As Ursula took Michael to his bedroom quietly, Maggie went into the only room with light, only seeing Eric slumped over in a chair, sleeping. The table had been cleared save for an empty beer bottle and a plastic container still full of take-out Chinese food. It made Maggie sick to her stomach, fearing that Eric was stealing more money from her bank account once more and bouncing her debits.

It was nighttime, after all: little free time left for the C.S.I.'s, the two girls exhausted from days and nights of working. The night at the bar with Nick was a faraway memory for them both (Maggie had giggled well into the night with Ursula about it and could not stop talking about it when Eric was not around), their work out in the fields not only stimulating, but also grueling. Maggie – looking down at Eric and suddenly wondering why she had stuck with him for all that time they had together – had Nick far from her thoughts as she unlocked the door to the apartment and let her friend and son in and thought about her imminent breakup (it had been coming for a while, she reasoned, but it should have been done ages ago), time ticking before her shift at the lab. She had to do it, she still reasoned in her mind, and it had to be that moment.

Days had passed and a routine had been established, after all. May blended into June and the Las Vegas sun shone brighter and hotter. The crime lab had gone on with life, as if Warrick was not dead, his funeral not even the month before. Michael was enrolled into pre-school for September (Maggie relieved that she did it in time, before the deadline for the paperwork was over), Ursula had started a relationship and conducted it discreetly at a nearby motel (and would not tell her companion about the man…or woman, since she was bisexual), Eric had supposedly started a job at a casino (they all doubted it, even Michael) and Maggie could only think of her son, work and sometimes that last kiss Nick had given her. It had been over a month since their date, but every time Eric slept with her, kissed her, _touched_ her, Maggie could close her eyes in utter disgust and only think about Nick and his kisses, thinking about how Eric was not Eric but Nick, finally coming back to her.

"I don't know where he is," Ursula answered, sending a shiver down Maggie's back as she turned around, seeing her friend behind her in the kitchen doorway. "Well, hell, there he is now. Sleeping, as usual. I'm not surprised about him doing that anymore. Come on, Maggs, let's go to bed now. Well, no, you have a shift in a few hours with Grissom and the gang. Sorry. Do you want to put Michael into the tub and into bed or do you want me to do it?"

"You do it. I need to talk to him." Maggie indicated the motionless figure in the chair. She even sighed. "I'm going to kick him out…tonight, I'm hoping, tomorrow by the latest. I don't see him getting a job or helping the family. And I'm tired of being with him. Eric is wrong, Ursula, and he always had been. I _can _live without him, like I lived without Nick. I can live without a man in my life. I have you. I have my son. And that's all I can ask for right now." She paused. "Well, I _could_ ask for my brothers, but Grace won't let Eddie or their children talk to me and, since they moved, I can't contact them really. Chris only called me a few times in three years to tell me the news, since he's forgiven me all of a sudden. However, he's not ready to see me yet. Soon, he said before I moved back here. Interesting how he's still living at my parents' old place and is married to some girl named Rachael, who teaches deaf people and loves Robbie. They got to get married after Chris couldn't find Helen. He and his former in-laws declared her legally dead."

"Ahh, decisions, decisions," Ursula chuckled softly as she replied. "We make them every single day, not knowing how they impact us most of the time. This is a good one. I'm proud of you, Maggie. You deserve happiness, not this mess."

"So am I. But…have you decided whether or not you're going to tell me about the person you're seeing at that shady little motel down the road? Or, am I going to be in suspense for a while?"

Ursula laughed out loud. "Maybe, but not yet, I think. Well, I can say that the person is a man. His name, though, shall be a mystery for a little while, I think."

"No, you have to tell me!" A lower lip stuck out, becoming a pout. Arms were crossed even: a long-forgotten childlike gesture.

"You know, Maggie, when you do that, you look like Michael, right?"

"Oh, stop it! You know that it's not true."

"Maggs, it makes me believe that you don't have depression after all, or maybe it's somewhere hidden somehow, and that you are capable of being the same Maggie from the past that I keep hearing about, but don't really see. You have medication, you take things so slowly, and yet…is it real? Am I seeing the real Maggie from long ago, before she came to meet up with little old me in Hartford?"

"Perhaps you are right. But, come on. We have things to do. Just keep Michael preoccupied until this is all over, ok?" Maggie then crossed her arms again and shooed Ursula away, indicating to her that her confrontation with Eric was about to begin and that she didn't want her or Michael around to see or hear it really.

"Oh, I see now. I know when I'm not needed. I know when I've been insulted! I know when I've been insulted!" Ursula yelled and was soon laughing, getting Maggie to do the same as the latter playfully pushed the former into the next room. However, this got Eric to wake up.

Maggie it saw it immediately, _sensed_ it almost, as her playtime pushing stopped. "Get in Michael's bedroom, ok? Keep the cell phone handy just in case. You know who to call."

"Sure…" Ursula became serious in an instant, literally running in the opposite direction as Maggie went back into the kitchen, facing Eric.

"What's this I hear?" Eric roared, getting Maggie to wince, thinking about the neighbors downstairs. "I come home from working hard and I get some food. I fall asleep and wake up to two _idiots_ giggling about stupid shit. Well, this is the last time!" He got up, knocking his chair over with a loud _thud_. "Maggie, you should _know_ better!" He cracked his knuckles, coming towards Maggie. "Now, I guess that you need to be reminded of what you should do when somebody is _sleeping_, now, shouldn't you?"

Eric quickly moved towards Maggie and was about to hit her when the C.S.I. quickly blocked the blow and held the offending fist in her own hand, breathing heavily herself, her own instincts of old – things taught to her – coming back to her. Officer Michael O'Keefe had taught her that. _My father had taught me that. He taught me that for a different person, a totally different person from Eric. But, they're all the same. They always are. They're all scum of the Earth._

The offender was surprised, _shocked_ even that Maggie had defended herself and had done it well. His mouth open, his eyes widened, Eric looked at the C.S.I.

"How dare you?" he hissed, his tongue even like a snake's: thin, slithering and even penetrating tight spaces. "How dare you do this to me? I've given you the _world_, Margaret Jane O'Keefe. I've given you _everything_ and this is how you pay me? This is how you pay me for the years I've supported you?"

"Yes," Maggie replied, more sure than ever that she didn't need Eric…and Nick, if it came down to that. "Eric, I thought you were good for me. You met up with me, we dated and we lived together. You used to get along with my child, _my son_, before you started this…this _bullshit_. You treated me like a slave, like I was _meant_ to cater to every 'need' you have, every little thing you 'needed' me to get done." Maggie let go of Eric's fist, throwing him off balance for a second, still shocking him. "I could have had Child Services bothering me, but luckily, I had not. I had support and help from the people who really love me. And, realizing this, within weeks of coming back here, has made me think twice…and know that I run aside danger all the time, but I could always push it away when I have the ability to. And Eric…I love you, _used_ to be in love with you…and I realize that I don't need you anymore."

"You're breaking up with me?" Eric's voice had a squeak to it, very high-pitched and stunned.

"I want you and your things out of here no later than tomorrow evening, before I go back to work." Maggie stood taller, putting her hands on her hips.

Eric stood back and nodded with understanding, his usual irate look back on his face. "It's that C.S.I. you work with, isn't it? It's Nick Stokes, that bastard, isn't it?"

"We work together and that's about it," Maggie replied, smiling with a rare new confidence.

"You're hiding more, you little –"

"No!" the C.S.I. interrupted. "I will not _hear_ you calling me names again! I want you out of here. _Now._ Since you've been so 'helpful' to your own cause, I suggest that you be gone before I come back from work tomorrow morning. And, if you try anything, I have patrol cars within my reach and they would come to our aide when we call."

"You're lying!" Eric called her bluff, but Maggie did not care. All she knew was that if Ursula called Headquarters, Brass would not hesitate to get some cars out to come help them with Eric, helping his former co-worker's daughter (and his own) and making sure that she and her loved ones came to no harm.

Knowing this – and keeping it in mind – made up Maggie's mind permanently. She could no longer have Eric in her life. She would rather have Nick than Eric.

"No, I'm not." Maggie took out her cell phone and put Brass' number on the screen quickly and showed her now ex-boyfriend the power she had over him. "Would you like a demonstration?"

"To hell with you, then!" Eric yelled without fear, ferociously walking around Maggie (without pushing her, she noted) and heading to their bedroom. "To hell with you and Ursula and your little bastard, Michael, too!" Stomping in and out of the room and returning to the kitchen with a bag of his things, Eric stopped before Maggie, wagging a finger at her as she put the cell phone away. "You have not heard the last of me, you little weasel. You _won't_ hear the last of me. I'll follow you down and _kill_ the people you love!"

"Like I haven't heard it before," Maggie replied stiffly, remembering those words spoken to her long ago, from a different person.

"I'm sure." Eric walked around her again, opening the front doorway and striding out, leaving without another word. Afterward, even with him running down the stairs in anger, there had been silence: silence, without the fear in her heart, without the pounding in her head, without the worry about her son in her soul. _He was gone._

"Oh, God, I see that went over well." Ursula had entered into the kitchen, seeing Maggie still in a defensive stance, ready to strike back. Michael was nowhere in sight.

"Is Michael ok?" Maggie turned to her friend, tears in her eyes as she turned her own thoughts to her son.

"He's fine. He knows. Oh, Maggie, are _you_ ok?" Ursula ran to Maggie to hold her as she almost fell to the floor in a faint of disbelief.

"He's gone, Ursula. He really is _gone_." Sobs shook her, choked back words long forgotten.

"Yes, he is. Shh, or Grissom will _kill_ me instead of you." Ursula laughed nervously, getting Maggie to face her, holding her a foot from her own face. "Come on. You have shift in two hours. You have to play the part and be ready to rat out more bad guys tonight. It's what we do. We're C.S.I.'s, remember?"

"Yeah, really…" Maggie seemed listless, a weight off her shoulders. "I just need to make a call, ok? Let me go…_please_."

Ursula, making sure that Maggie could stand up, let her go, but watched as her friend took out her cell phone and walked to the living room, dialing a number memorized by heart. Ursula knew who she was calling as she talked to the person on the other line, even though they were meeting up later in the evening. Walking back to Michael's bedroom with a sigh, she thought about her own happiness…and Maggie's, seeing it finally played out at last.


	8. Easy For You to Say

Maggie sat across from Nick again, tapping her feet on the cool floor and enjoying the A.C. above their heads. It was the next morning, hot and clear, no rain in sight (and relief coming in the form of cold air in any building they entered). The two, off of a shift again, had decided on breakfast at a local diner alone and knew that they needed to talk things out again, especially after the phone call from the night before. They had expected it. Grissom, most of all, had expected it, and even encouraged them enough, telling them to make up and be considerate to each other. However, he also emphasized civil and professional behavior, believing that the two could manage it still. The two were even well-versed in all of the décor, demeanor and stature that defined the character Grissom was.

Both even nervously took their coffee cups and egg and bacon breakfasts from the eager hands of their young waitress, twisting the food in circles and twirling their sugar and cream into ovals of brown and white. No words were spoken except their thanks to the waitress that brought their food, but the silent pleas for the other to start were clearly painted painfully on their faces. Finally, as Maggie sipped her coffee – not black for once – Nick cleared his throat, obviously nervous.

"You know, the last time I came here was when Warrick was – you know, when he was alive. We were together, with the team. And we had acquitted him." Nick spooned a small portion of eggs into his mouth, grief lining his eyes, his dark eyes threatening tears again.

_Oh, God, I can't handle this. Please don't let him cry._ Maggie selfishly thought it, but did not voice it. The small part of her mind told her not to argue, not to shake Nick and tell him to bring more sense into his mind…to rid himself of grief…but she could not, allowing it to control her mind, keeping it within its confines. She was barely over her own grief and, added to Eric leaving and her heart being empty and aching once more with a break-up, she could hardly add to the anguish Nick had.

"We also came here when we first met," Maggie reminded him quietly, trying to stay positive and picturing the scene at the same time, smiling as she did.

"We did," Nick remembered, looking up at Maggie with softer eyes.

Maggie and Nick both took each other's hands and held them together, smiling and laughing at the same thought they had.

"It's just like before," Nick mused quietly, treading over with care.

"Nothing can be totally repeated to the T. And I don't think I want it to. I can't relive through all of that again." Maggie shook her dark head with vigor, remembering their first morning together and wishing, in some small way, that it would come back…and then go away. She could not relive that bittersweet moment, knowing what would happen next.

"Something I'm sure Grissom never taught you," Nick replied, taking another sip of his coffee. "I'm sure as hell confident that I never heard him teach about love."

"He's taught us many things, but nothing like this." Maggie paused. "He's learning himself, and has been trying to figure it out for many years. How can he help us with this, other than telling us to play nice? He can hardly hide his own affair with Sara."

"I think we did a good job, Maggie, better than Grissom and Sara. Or, can I call you Maggs? Is it a new nickname?"

"Only Ursula can do that and she's not here to tease me. Lay off it, Nick."

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm playing nice, aren't I?" Nick took his hand off of Maggie's and took another bite out of his breakfast, another sip of his coffee. "Come on, Maggie. It'll be ok. It always has been between us…right?"

"It's easy for you to say, you know that?" Maggie almost stood up with anger, remembering the old arguments before they broke up, before she got herself into more trouble than she could even imagine. "You didn't have to see your parents murdered. You didn't have to go through the pain of _reliving_ it and then having the killer end up being the person who sexually assaulted you in high school and obsessed over you ever since. Hell, Nick, Jason Napolitano had a small room _dedicated _to me – pictures and threats and everything like that – and his wife didn't even know about it until he was dead and gone. Brass found it after the high school shooting he staged, remember? Or, is it easy for you to forget something like that?"

"Is it really that easy, dammit?" Nick _banged_ the table in total anger, causing a few customers and workers to turn their heads in curiosity. "Maggie, you really don't know how _angry_ I was. Do you really think it was easy for me to see you kidnapped and raped and left for dead? I was the one who processed your body, if _you_ remember correctly. With Brass behind me. And I found you alive, you…you…dammit, you won't understand, will _you_?"

Maggie's sudden rage turned to sympathy, pity even, as she watched Nick turn from his older, argumentative self to the emotional. He broke down, almost crying, curling into a corner of their booth and nearly putting his head into his hands. But Nick held back as he reminded himself where he was, composing himself and turning his face stoic once more.

She herself soon sighed with frustration, pulling at her hair even. However, seeing Nick's grief brought on new questions, new inquiries about the years they had been apart. Something had been _really _bothering Nick – much more than Warrick's sudden death – and Maggie had to find out what it was before she exploded with her own insecurities and mixed feelings. She could not just stand up and leave again without knowing what was badgering Nick's conscious being. She knew, without asking, that something was totally wrong.

Maggie put her hand back on Nick's when it became free of his coffee cup and squeezed it gently. "What happened?" she asked, putting on her C.S.I. role, wondering what put Nick into fits.

Nick's fork froze midair. He put it down, sighing and knowing what Maggie was trying to do. Gulping, he said slowly, "I was kidnapped, just like you were. And –"

"Don't tell me…" Maggie panicked, interrupting.

"No, no, Maggie…I was buried alive. And nobody knew where I was and I'm so afraid. I'm afraid that it'll happen again and I don't be able to help anybody or myself or thing, especially with…dammit, Maggie, why did you have to come back and complicate everything…?" Nick faltered, but then broke down again, crying as his head hit the table.

"Oh, Nick, don't – no, Nick, don't do this to me." Maggie's frantic whispers soon turned to endearments, trying to get Nick to release his anguish, his pain. But soon enough, she, too, was crying slow tears, remembering and suddenly realizing how much they still needed each other in a way, still could be together if they tried. Even the pain of Eric's departure the night before did not hit her as hard as her previous decision to leave Nick. And it smacked her right in the face, reminding her that she could have been there, could have helped him when he needed it.

After the both had calmed down – when the stares of everybody had faded as the busy breakfast hours pulled in – they had resumed their breakfasts, silence reigning over them until Maggie finally said without looking up from her bacon, "It was a bad decision, a horrible mistake. I should not have made it."

"Made what mistake?" Nick asked softly, resuming his daily ritual of stuffing his face with breakfast, albeit a cold one. Their hands still remained entwined.

"Leaving you," Maggie simply answered, leaning over to kiss Nick on the forehead as he put more eggs and some bacon into his mouth.


	9. Is It Possible?

Later that evening, Maggie returned to the C.S.I. Headquarters for another shift on a starry and hot night, whistling and counting the days until she could have a night off from being at her demanding job. Three more nights and she had a night off from the grueling schedule Grissom had put everybody through, especially as of late (refreshing, but tiring to everybody). Plans and schemes already racked her brain, silly scenes with Michael often showing themselves to her. Finally, one popped into her mind of her, Michael and Nick having dinner and playing together, but she quickly dismissed it, knowing that it was perfectly unrealistic and could not happen, even to her own wishful thinking.

_I cannot be thinking of Nick all the damned time, especially now. I may still love him and realize the mistakes I've made, but it doesn't mean that I want to jump back into a relationship with him. It's too soon. It's much _too_ soon. I just kicked Eric out of the house. And luckily, he left without a complaint after our argument. Ursula and Michael are happy with the arrangement. I'm happy with the lack of slackers in the house…namely Eric. I don't care where he's gone. I'm just hoping that he's far from here and away from me._

Walking down the hallway into her office space, Maggie put her backpack and purse down and sat down at the desk she shared with Ursula. Pictures of their families dotted the desk (their children and sometimes family members), some of them Maggie did not notice until she looked carefully for the first time. Some form of friendship even remained within the office as both left things in the exact spots without telling the other…and each finding what they needed. However, as the C.S.I. surveyed the room, she saw that a random case report from two days ago laid almost forgotten and forlorn in the printer, something that should have been given to Ecklie, who was promoted to Assistant Director, but still doted upon the daytime shift (and headed it oftentimes), leaving Grissom the nighttime crew.

_This isn't like Ursula. She's more attentive and responsible than that. Where is she?_ Maggie picked up the reports, put them in numerical order and stapled the papers together, waving down a daytime C.S.I. as she stuck her head out of the office door. Requesting that Ecklie get that report as soon as possible, she ducked back into the relative safety of her space, thinking about the report in the printer (a careless mistake or something more sinister, she could not figure out, but conspiracies were far from her mind). Then, as she turned to sit down again, she noticed Ursula's backpack in the corner of the office: forsaken, deserted and still full of her things. The two knew that the locker rooms were used for their things usually, but bringing their backpacks into the office made it more comfortable and personal, as if they had control of everything within the small space of work.

_This is getting stranger._ Maggie was about to turn around in her chair to grab the backpack, when Ecklie came into the office, waving the bunch of papers that Maggie had just sent to him.

"What's up, Assistant Director Ecklie?" Maggie sighed, seeing him in her doorway, clearing his throat and looking slightly irate.

"Where is Kearns?" he asked her without preamble, holding the papers on his hip as they waved in the air conditioning. "She's been missing since last night. She didn't come to her shift this morning and has not contacted anybody since yesterday afternoon."

"I'm sure she's around someplace and has a logical explanation for everything she's done," the younger C.S.I. answered, not confident in her answer. "I saw her briefly last night, but did not stay at the apartment long enough to know what she was up to." Maggie knew that Ecklie would not like to hear of Ursula's late-night adventures, so kept her mouth shut about it. Michael slept over her brother Chris' place (Robbie teaching him sign language, even though the older cousin could speak out loud and read lips), so was taken care of when she was working. However, being at the motel down the road chilled Maggie, a feeling she did not get often.

"I hope so, O'Keefe," Ecklie answered. "That's offense number one with Kearns. Remind her of that. Offense number two gets her suspended without pay. And you know what number three means."

"Yes, Sir." Without being sarcastic and saluting, Maggie almost mechanically turned back to her paperwork as Ecklie left the office, bumping into Grissom as he came. The two talked frantically as the night supervisor told him some news in hushed tones, leaving the Assistant Director utterly shocked and walking down the hallways in disbelief, ordering Grissom to give him more information when the time comes or to have Brass call him with updates on some case at a motel crime scene.

"Yes, Grissom? How can I serve my supervisor admirably tonight?" Without looking up, the C.S.I. knew that Grissom was in the room, flustered and anxious despite her annoyance at the disturbances of the night, Ecklie at the top of the list.

"Have you seen Ursula Kearns at all?" Grissom asked her quickly, frantically even, worry mixing in with the clear frustration he was holding back. Then, he suddenly threw his fists on Maggie's desk, attracting her attention and making her jump in her seat as she dropped her pen and her mindless study of her own affairs. "When was the last time you saw her?"

"Last night, just like I told Ecklie," she replied just as quickly, a tinge of nervousness in her own voice. "Why? I don't know what she does on her off-hours save for some meetings she has with some guy, watching Michael in the evenings and writing up reports. I have no names."

"This is worse than I thought." Grissom started pacing the office space. "This is worse than I thought, especially after all of this…"

Maggie stood up. "Grissom, what _is_ going on here?"

The supervisor did not stop his pacing, but put his hands behind his back, muttering to himself until Catherine popped her head into the office, Nick right behind her as she moved in, closer to Grissom. By then, Grissom had stopped his nervous ramblings and looked to Catherine, who shrugged her shoulders and sighed, not knowing how to answer her boss. Nick appeared to be the same way, but was braver than Catherine to say the news that nobody wanted to hear.

"We traced the call from your office to the White Sands Motel on the Boulevard South," Nick quietly reported. "It was from one of the locked and unused rooms on the top floor. Brass is over there now, knocking down the door."

"That's down the road from where I live," Maggie added, recognition lining her words and understanding in her mind. "Ursula usually goes there for her meetings with some guy. Is she –?"

"She's been kidnapped," Catherine interrupted calmly, putting fear into her younger co-worker's heart, just as another did years before, two murders haunting her then. "Maggie, you can't do anything right now." She backed into the doorway with Nick next to her, blocking the C.S.I.'s exit, acting before she reacted to the news. "Right now, we have to wait for Brass to call."

Grissom's cell phone suddenly rang on cue, as if to confirm Catherine's statements, and the supervisor picked it up and listened for a moment, without saying a greeting to the person on the other end. Ending with, "We'll be there soon," Grissom hung up, motioning for Catherine to get moving.

"What's going on, Gris?" Nick asked as he was gently pushed aside.

"Nothing and nobody at the motel room, but it's clearly a crime scene," Grissom answered automatically to everybody. Then, turning to Nick, he added, "You stay here with Maggie. Catherine, Sara and I will handle this one."

"And what do _we_ do in the meantime?" Maggie asked, feeling helpless…wanting to vomit all over again…wishing that Michael was in her arms, safe and sound. _Was he? Is he safe with Chris and Rachael and Robbie? Jesus, I want him! He can't be left alone. No, no, no!_

"Stay here with Nick, Maggie. Call Brass to tell him where Michael is. He'll escort your son here to Headquarters or have a uniformed officer do it for him." Grissom hurried out, motioning that Catherine to come with him. "If this is another kidnapping case involving your family, we cannot take any chances this time. We'll keep who we have safe and behind protective custody before something else happens and quickly gather the rest of them."

As Catherine and Grissom left, Nick looked to Maggie, searching for something out of her. What, she did not know. All she saw in his eyes was sympathy and some sort of helplessness, the same kind that she was feeling in the situation: numb, with no idea on what to do, no plan in mind, no way to figure this out.

Maggie sat down in her chair again, agitated, especially when Nick pulled up a chair from the hallways and sat next to her, holding her hand and rubbing it in circles with his thumb. Wanting to punch him in the face for intruding upon her personal space and thoughts did not help Maggie, but him being there could help her later on. She even almost smacked herself in the forehead for thinking that.

_I can't be running to Nick every time something happens, just like last time. And even before trouble came to me, he was there, as always. He was there. Then, everything had to change. Now, at the first sign of trouble AGAIN, there he is. I can't let myself fall again, can't let myself fall in love again. No, no, no, no! I can't do it. Co-worker or not, he can't be my lover. And he's acting it, like always. No. I would like it, but I can't handle it._

"What do you think?" Nick asked Maggie calmly after a few minutes. "Jason Napolitano is dead. His son lives and is innocent. Who could be after your family now? Or is that even possible now? Can it be a sheer coincidence even?"

Maggie thought for a minute, knowing that all of the players of the past were dead and gone and that somebody new was out there, possibly even Ursula's mysterious man that she had been meeting up with for the past few weeks. Then, without an answer in mind but that, she only replied to Nick, "Somebody who just knows the past and isn't over it yet. And it's not going to be over unless they say so."


	10. Rambling

"There's nothing in there but a sign of struggle on the bed. No fingerprints were anywhere, especially on the phone that was used, sex was obviously done on the bed and nobody had seen anything. It doesn't make sense, Nick. It really doesn't. I mean, there's no semen on the bed, gloves were used everywhere and the only sign that Ursula was in that room was a strand of her hair on the bed. Nobody checked in or out and nobody on the floor saw them. The windows are clean and don't look used at all. There's not even a body or a note, dammit!"

Nick noticed the same, old frustration and anguish in Maggie's voice as they talked over lunch at the diner a few days after Ursula and her kidnapper called Grissom in his office, telling him of the sudden abduction. No new developments had been disclosed save for Eric Jacobson's capture by Brass and his team (charged with attacking a police officer when asked to come in for questioning, Eric was in custody for striking Brass) and his questioning to be scheduled for later in the afternoon. Maggie wasn't supposed to be in to watch the action between Eric and Brass, but she was going anyway. She didn't mind seeing her ex-boyfriend for the first time in almost a week, but at the same time, it gave her a sick feeling inside, as if he had a hand in the kidnapping and was not going to admit it.

"You're rambling again," Nick finally said carefully after taking a bite out of his sandwich, referring to Maggie's mental defensive walls when she was upset.

"Am not," Maggie retorted, mindlessly spinning her fork in circles around her salad.

"Are too, and it's driving me crazy. I know you too well."

"Stop it, Nick, because I'm not. I'm just worried."

"And that's the problem, Maggie." Nick sighed. "You're _too_ worried. Ursula will be fine. From what I've seen of her, she's a good C.S.I. and can handle being a hostage for a while. After all, she's been almost like one for a long time now, what, with Eric Jacobson looking at her and not you. I've seen it."

"You obviously did not hear Grissom talk about the kidnapper, have you?" Grabbing the salad dressing from the corner of the table, Maggie shook the bottle and opened it, pouring carefully before her hands trembled too hard from the cold fear. "He said that the person used a computerized voice so that he or she could not be recognized. And if it was Eric, then how is it that he was found wandering at Alloy Street without Ursula in sight? He must have had an accomplice if he did it." She blew some frustrated air. "We can't afford to lose another C.S.I., Nick. We just can't!"

"And is hiding her well, if he had the brains to," Nick growled, instinctively tracing a line of bruising on Maggie's arm: healing, fading and yet, showing no end in sight. He also knew that she was right – losing another member of any team could not happen – and felt a need to calm her down. _Talk to her like a child: slowly and with reassurance. I can't let her know my feelings. She isn't ready to know mine._

"Possibly," Maggie agreed, shivering with some slight eager anticipation at Nick's touch. If it was a good thing, she could not tell. Her mixed feelings about being with Nick more often still remained as such: assorted and not yet decided on a definite feeling. She decided to stay civil, though, and it served her for the time being.

_But, when will it be a problem? I can't play nice-nice forever. I need to make a resolution to this. Either I need to be friends with him and stay that way or hitch up again. I love him still, but I don't know anything anymore. I need to play this, play it by ear. Yes, yes…_

"But, why would he kidnap Ursula and not you?" Nick shook his head, wondering.

"Drugs, sex, money, revenge and love are the main causes for murder usually, as Grissom has taught us many times. Kidnapping is almost the same thing. It could be for revenge or even for control. Eric could have needed both because I kicked him out. I was tired of him taking control of me and everything else." Maggie paused. "And as for picking Ursula, you're right, Nick: he's had a knack for her since I introduced him to her. She didn't take to him, thankfully, and life went on."

Nick considered his co-worker's theory. "What do you think Jason wanted?"

The question had Maggie drop her fork with surprise, the mention of her child's father opening up memories she usually kept locked up. "Both, I think. And an obsession with me, for sure. He's been tracing me since after high school when he was not performing. Personally, I was not impressed with his so-called 'magical' skills nor was I happy with his personal traits. He was a gross, insecure man who thought he needed me and would have killed if he needed to. Jealousy was his thing, too. Ursula and I already found out he killed about five people connected with me."

"He did not." Nick's voice was of astonishment and even alarm and disbelief.

"He did so, Nick, and I just found out about the other four recently. Jackie Polsen, a friend of mine, was just one of them. Jason Napolitano also killed Floyd Peterson, who was my mailman for a while when I was in South Carolina. He also got to Xavier, who was some male nurse in New York that wanted to date me, but was found, by one of his co-workers, dead in his office one night. Adam Ulrich was a young student who wanted to be a C.S.I., but was also found dead in an office…mine, actually, when I was in Miami. And yes, I was acquitted of that. Horatio Cane made sure of that!" Maggie saw Nick's face and had to laugh.

"Who was the last person?" Nick asked quietly, trying to make the other people in the diner stop staring at them again with normal conversation, whispering words that were not considered such.

"Another co-worker on mine, if you want to call her that, named Maria. She was our cleaning lady for the offices in Georgia. She was found dead outside of my office. And the thing is, I _still _didn't really put two-and-two together until after I moved out of here the last time. Ursula and I just got to talking and we started investigating everything. Took Michael with us and we started going through the old files and putting the odd puzzle together."

"And it all pointed to Michael's father?"

"Yes, without a doubt, Nick. Without a doubt, Jason Napolitano killed not only my parents, out of pettiness and spite for me, but also murdered five people who were connected to me. Jackie the C.S.I., Floyd the mailman, Xavier the nurse, Adam the student and Maria the cleaning lady: all of their lives taken away because they contacted me almost every single day of their lives, somehow touched me and made me smile. It made me guilty for a while, but I thought it over. Somehow, it's still kind of my fault, being alive and all, and it made me wonder for a while if killing myself when I was a child should have been the way to go. But, here I am, obviously alive, and I have a son. No sense in thinking about that now, seeing as how it's the past and it won't come back."

Nick was silent, thinking over Maggie's words as he continued to eat his sandwich. Then, out of the blue, he said, "You're _still_ rambling, you know that?"

Maggie smiled a toothy grin, almost laughing, and shook her head, black and white strands waving in the air conditioning. "Am not and you know it. You're just making excuses and trying to get me to laugh."

"No, no, now it's _my_ turn to deny everything. I'm not trying to get you to laugh. You're just thinking it's funny. And you _are_ long-winded. Are you sure you're not nervous?"

"Haha, Nick, this isn't funny. I'm not nervous. I'm just…"

"What?"

"I don't know. Ok, ok, I'm nervous. Happy now, Mr. Know-It-All?"

"Yes." Nick beamed, as if the nickname given to him had fitted the persona perfectly, and showed it off, teasing Maggie inexorably until a cell phone rang.

"It's mine," Maggie said reassuringly, seeing hers in the purse light up, as Nick picked his up to see if someone was calling him (and the others in the diner continued to stare at them). "Hello?"

"Hey there, Maggie." The cool voice of Brass filled her ears, making her smile. "Eric Jacobson is ready for interrogation in half an hour. I know you're not supposed to be there when it's going on, but Assistant _Director_ Ecklie is relenting. Care to come still?"

"We'll be there soon." Hanging up the cell phone and placing it back in her purse, Maggie, still sensing Brass' ironic statement, smiled at Nick and answered his silent inquiries. "That was Brass. Ecklie is letting me watch the interrogation after all, as if I wasn't going to sneak in anyway. Still interested in coming with me?"

"To see that bastard crack and confess his crimes under Brass? Sure, I'll come." Nick motioned for a red-haired waitress to come over so that they could pay for lunch. Taking the paper bill from the girl as she walked away, he added, "I'll pay."

Maggie tried grabbing the paper from Nick, almost dunking her breasts in the salad dressing left on her plate. "No, I can pay my half."

The other C.S.I. raised the paper bill high in his hands, as if to keep Maggie from grabbing it, and laughed hysterically. "No, I'll pay. You can do it next time…unless you can cook for me."

"I'll have to ask my brother and Brass and Grissom for visiting rights, since Michael and I staying with him and his family for protection from this kidnapper, you…you…"

"You what?" Nick laughed again and took some money out of his wallet, waving the waitress down quickly before Maggie grabbed everything. "Keep the change," he called out to the waitress as she walked away, smiling at her.

"You…you…" Maggie found no words to insult him, so sat down, calmed, and sighed. "Let's go. I want to watch this. I got some things to do."

"Like what?" Nick asked, curious as he prepared to leave.

"I want to grab Greg and head back to the original crime scene," was the reply. "I'm pretty _sure_ Grissom will let me go. Fresh eyes, remember? And Greg needs some experience in the field. He gets it, but I think he needs a little more before he could be promoted."

"You're tough on him," Nick pointed out. He then got up and held out his hand so that Maggie could get out of her booth seat. She accepted it, taking her purse and walking out with Nick.

"I've also trained C.S.I.'s before." Maggie rolled her eyes at the observation, knowing that she was breaking some rules when she thought about going back to the motel.

Behind them, Maggie also noticed, an elderly gentleman talked with the same waitress that served them. As the duo left, she heard him say to his server pouring coffee, "Those two sure get into arguments a lot."


	11. The Interrogation

"You can't hold me here, dammit! I want a lawyer now! Let me out, Detective. I think I had enough of this. Come on, I know you're all there! I have information that I'm pretty sure you need. Come on, let me out of here. I know you know to when you hear what I've got!" Eric paced the interrogation room he was placed into the hour before – already denying his right to a lawyer when arrested and demanding one suddenly – and waited his turn to be questioned. After a few more minutes of ranting, however, he sat down in his seat, seeing that his yelling was getting him nowhere. However, his fidgeting was noticeable.

_He's just like a caged animal._ Maggie saw him through the glass on the other side, waiting for Brass to go in, Nick right next to her on the left, trying to get her hand, but failing. Watching Eric through a different set of eyes, though, made her pity him more, as if she could reach out and help him once more. _No. I can't. It's over now. Just like Nick, it's all over now._

The door to the interrogation room opened with a soft _click_, allowing Brass to come in, paperwork covering his arms and a scowl to his face. A bruise colored one side his face – a souvenir from Eric – and it highlighted his mood: irritated. Walking to the opposite chair and putting his papers down, shuffling them all into the folder they were falling out of, he faced the suspect with a menacing stare before seating himself and starting the questioning.

"So, Mr. Jacobson, tell me what you know about the kidnapping," Brass offered as if he was handing Eric a free pass out of jail. He leaned forward. "You mentioned that you knew something about Ursula Kearns being kidnapped. Please, enlighten us with your knowledge and uncanny insight into the matter."

As Maggie and Nick watched the squirmy silence that Brass was suddenly receiving, Catherine came to them. Standing next to Nick, she squinted to see the suspect in the next room, beyond the glass. Shaking her head when she realized who it was, she asked lightly, "I take it that's the ex boyfriend, Maggie?"

"If you want to call him that, then be my guest." Maggie shushed the assistant supervisor, Nick growling as she did, when she saw Eric's lips move into words, no sounds coming out. Catherine obeyed and her interest soon turned to the two in the interrogation room.

"What was that you were saying, Mr. Jacobson?" Brass soon asked as he saw the same things the C.S.I.'s did. Then, after a moment of nervous shaking from Eric later, the three behind the glass heard a _bang_ on the table as Brass punched it with both fists, standing up and pushing his chair back. Taking Eric by the shirt collar, Brass brought the suspect up to his own face. "Listen, _Eric_, you had better tell us something now or face the consequences. It'll be easy to get charges to stick on you. Domestic abuse and assault charges do follow, you know? And if I were you, I would say everything I knew. I know that you were beating on Maggie O'Keefe before this, so make this good."

Brass released the man to his seat, pushing him back and nearly knocking him to the floor. As the detective sat back down calmly, Eric sat back up straight, finally realizing how much trouble he truly was in. After a moment of staring back at Brass – cowering in his chair when Brass reminded him of every moment wasted – Eric finally sighed, his tough-guy persona gone.

"Ok, ok, you've got me there, Detective," Eric started, taking deep breathes as he finished his initial panicking. "I knew something about this kidnapping. But, I swear to God, I didn't do it!"

"This guy is a real artist," Catherine commented, sighing.

"This guy really needs his ass handed to him," Nick added. "And I think Brass just started what I would have."

Maggie was not surprised at the comments (she didn't even register Nick's words until a minute later), but was more paying attention to the people in the next room than to her co-workers. When she heard something about Ursula and how Eric knew something about her disappearing, the uneasy feelings in her stomach came back, the same she had when Grissom received that phone call. She somehow thought that Eric had some hand in the crime, but disappointment soon followed.

"Well, what is it?" Brass tapped his fingernails on the table, waiting impatiently as Eric smirked and remained quiet, seeing Maggie behind the detective in the other room.

"Hell, Detective, I just knew about it, I _think_," Eric only said as his gaze moved from the C.S.I. back to Brass. "I was kicked out of my place at East Tropicana – Maggie can confirm that, since she was the one who did the deed – and walked out. I headed out to Alloy after a night at the park alone. Well, not quite alone, but you know what I mean…" He chuckled, as if recalling to memory some woman he picked up.

"Get on with it." Brass sounded more irritated than he already was, bored even.

Eric leaned forward, as if he was telling someone a secret. "You want to know where I was and who I was with in the park?"

"Horseman's Park with a prostitute named Lynda," Brass answered in a bored voice, pushing Eric back into his seat with one hand. "Get on with it or the deal is off!"

"What deal?" Catherine asked, confused.

"Brass said the man could have the charges dropped if he cooperated and gave him what he wanted," Maggie answered, a sigh escaping her lips.

"Isn't that too risky?" Catherine's strawberry blonde head didn't move, not even in shock. "He could be out in the streets and aiding in the kidnapping, if he's involved."

"Brass' men have been watching him for a while," Maggie said with some pride in her voice, glad that she called Brass after Nick when she kicked Eric out of the house. "They'll continue doing it for him if he thinks it's necessary. You should know that, Catherine."

"Ok, ok, you got me there," Catherine laughed, turning her eyes back to the glass wall.

Eric sighed. "So, ok, Horseman's Park with Lynda was great. Then, I said to her I had no place for the night, so she took me to some sleazy place at Alloy, some place she stopped by when she didn't haves shit for money for the night. Said that she was raped by the guy who used to live there, but his widowed wife was nice enough to help her out. Lets her stay there, even though there are three young kids, little minors, living there. But anyway, Detective, Lynda and I went to this place with the three kids and the widow and we settled there for the night. Come to find out, the woman's name was Karen, Karen Tanner. Her three kids were from some previous marriage, some magician that was killed, and her new husband lives there with her, I guess."

Brass' mouth started to open in recognition.

"What, Detective? Cat got your tongue?" Eric looked at him carefully, seeing the shock on his face. "Can I continue my story? My ass is on the line here."

"Sure, sure, _Eric_, tell me the rest." Brass played with the papers on the table, but still listened to the suspect.

"Well, Detective, Karen and her new husband there – his name seems to escape me…ah, yes, it was Quentin – said something about a C.S.I. when I got there, standin' in the doorway hearing them talk about something about Ursula. They knew who she was and knew what they did to her, something about some murder a few years back. They just didn't notice me and Lynda come in, which is why they kept talking at their table, kids in their beds, until they saw us and stopped, scared and all."

"You're kidding me. This is too easy." Brass shook his own head in disbelief.

"Yeah, really, and you picked me up at a good time, before they got to me. Karen had kicked me out and all, because the coppers were around, so I don't know anything else."

"He's lying," Maggie declared out loud, seeing her ex's eyes shift to the left. "He always does that. He's lying."

"Shhh," Catherine cautioned as the conversation continued.

"So, did you see any signs of Ursula Kearns while you were there at Karen Tanner's?" Brass asked, hearing no more after the mention of Eric being kicked out of another place and him seeing the police around Alloy Street once more.

"Notta," Eric confirmed, crossing his arms. "The two said something about keeping her someplace out on the Clark Avenue, where Quentin's sister lives, down by six-oh-four there. Her name is Hannah or something like that. I don't remember. But, yeah…Clark Avenue was what they said they had her. Holding her there and saying something about exchanging her for Maggie over there."

"Did they mention anything about the reasons _why_ they kidnapped Ursula Kearns?" Brass asked carefully, looking back at Maggie, Nick and Catherine before hearing the answer. He heard something about an exchange and had to see if there was a motive behind it.

"Quentin was having an affair with Ursula, as far as I knew," Eric replied, licking his lips, again remembering something. "I was having something with Karen. So what? I don't know what else, Detective. It's all I know."

"He knows more." Maggie rolled her eyes.

"We can see that, but does the evidence point to it?" Grissom had come into the room, Sara behind him. "Eric is obviously involved, but you can't tell if he knows more or not."

"I know him, Grissom. I lived with him for some time. I can tell if he's lying or if he hasn't told everything." Maggie crossed her arms stubbornly as Nick put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Seeing Grissom give a disapproving glare, however, made him retract it and return to Eric and Brass. Everyone else followed his lead.

"You have anything else to add before I stick you back into the cell?" Brass gave Eric another vicious glare, another warning, as if to intimidate him, but received nothing more than another sigh from him.

Eric tilted his head to one side, slowly noticing that he was losing the battle, craving his freedom more than a metal cage. "Yes, Detective, maybe I do have more to say. Quentin was having a thing with Ursula in the motel room and reserved it a few times a week. While I screwed with Karen, he had that motel room, talking and fingering her while she was oblivious to everything. He got something out of her and one night, after they had a thing, he got her and brought her home, you know. I wasn't there, but Karen said something about it in bed. Well…"

"This is gross," Sara added, her nose wrinkling at the scene.

"Can we say the same for human nature?" Grissom questioned her.

"Good point," Sara replied sarcastically. "The next time I check my own morals, I'll chalk murder up there and see if I could get away with the same thing my mother did."

"Shhh," Nick and Catherine said together, trying to hear the last of the interrogation.

"…so, they brought her to Alloy, got a message to Grissom's office, and took her away to Clark with Hannah Tanner. I don't know anything else, Detective." Eric grinned a toothy predator's smile and sat back, relaxed and thinking that he was leaving the station scot-free.

Brass smiled too, realizing that the examination was over, and got up, knocking on the door to let a uniformed officer in as the door opened. "Take him back to the cell," he only said to the officer. "Bring him back to me when he has more to say about the matter."

Eric's mouth dropped. "Are you serious, Detective?" he yelled, giving Maggie a violent stare as he was taken away. "I have more, I tell you! More, more, more!"

"If you can find it with both of your hands and give us more information about Ursula Kearn's whereabouts, I'll think about letting you out to talk," Brass commented humorlessly as he went out with the duo, giving the C.S.I.'s a furtive face as he left.

The group then gathered together as the interview ended, all quiet.

"If everything Eric Jacobson said was correct, then he's not a part of the kidnapping, but a source of information," Nick commented, still angry that he was connected. "He's just a witness to some of the crime."

"We have only one way to find out, though," Grissom replied.

"Checking out the crime scenes," Maggie answered, her plan to head to the motel discovered as Grissom gave her a stern look. "We have some clues and connections. Hannah Tanner is a possible name of somebody in the kidnapping, as is Karen and Quentin Tanner."

"So, why does everything seem to ring a bell?" Sara asked, confused, a name wanting to come out of her mouth, a murder case that went unsolved until recently showing up in her mind.

"Because Karen Tanner used to be Karen Napolitano," Catherine answered for her before Maggie could. "She was the wife of Jason Napolitano, A.K.A. Harry Pitts, our murderer and kidnapper from years back."


	12. To the White Sands Motel

"Are you serious about this?" Greg asked Maggie and Nick as they headed to the motel, intent on asking around and checking out the original crime scene, as Grissom said to, knowing what Maggie wanted to do, learning from the past events. "You two seriously want me around?"

"Why wouldn't we?" Maggie sighed at the former lab rat turned C.S.I. as she turned around to face him from the passenger seat, the Las Vegas heat still bothering her, despite the car's cold air on her face. "You need experience, Greg, and here it is. I asked Grissom that you come along."

"Don't let her fool you, Greg," Nick commented as he drove towards the mote, the Tahoe totally in his control despite the distracting conversation. "She was going to literally grab you anyway, asking Grissom or not. She had a plan ready."

"You shut up." Maggie crossed her arms, as if she was going to pout, but thought better of it and turned her attention back to the situation at hand. "Well, not quite a plan, but I still had some scheme in mind to get more evidence from the motel."

"Yeah, sneaking out and ignoring Grissom."

"Shut _up_, Nick."

"So, what exactly are we looking for if we're not arguing about sneaking around and ignoring supervisors?" Greg asked as the two in the front teased each other, Nick using one hand to poke Maggie as she swatted him back childishly.

"The White Sands Motel at Las Vegas Boulevard South," Nick answered, successfully warding off Maggie's attacks as she gave up. "It was where the kidnapper called Grissom. The person was said to have used the phone in a room on the top floor, but the manager claims that nobody was in that room, nor was it reserved. No fingerprints were found on the phone."

"What about the room?" Greg took out a notepad and wrote what Nick said previously down.

"One out of thirty-two rooms, the room seemed pristine with no signs of anybody in the room. Only one dark brown hair strand was found on the bed and it was Ursula Kearns'. Sex was clearly done on the bed, but there was no semen."

An idea dawned upon Maggie. "Wait, wait, wait…no semen on the bed, but sex on the bed, can indicate that two _women_ were playing."

"Could be, but as Grissom always says, we can't assume," Nick said, smiling.

Maggie huffed. "I'm aware, but has the lab checked it out, to see if that was true?"

"Oh, Hodges, you mean? Doubtful, but it's possible. Ecklie has slowed down the investigation somewhat, so I don't think he was able to test that theory. Something was said in there about the reputation of the crime lab when another C.S.I. has been abducted and/or killed."

"I hate that man sometimes. He frustrates me to an extreme." Maggie crossed her arms again, angry about Ecklie, noting that Nick was feeling the same way, his lips in a tight grimace and his eyes narrowing as he jumped into the left lane to pass a driver. "Now, is there anything else we should know? Is that about it?"

"Other than why we should be checking the room again?" Greg asked.

"Because Grissom thinks that a few set of new eyes could be able to find something," Nick guessed. "I don't know. I would have thought we would have resorted to Maggie's plan and snuck out a while ago and faced the consequences later."

Maggie punched Nick in the arm as he turned to the street the motel was on and passed a car on the right, pulling into a parking lot. Quickly finding a spot, the three C.S.I.'s looked out the window of the Tahoe, seeing a two-story sleazy motel. The place was not recently painted, large chips of white peeling everywhere, rust on the railings and traffic shaking the U-shaped building.

_What a place that Ursula picked out. Why she would do something like that, I would never know. She's daring, I'll take that, but to get herself involved with a married man…if she knew…is not like her. And to have Eric have an affair with the wife and learn about the circumstances is almost circumstance. He could not have been involved…could he?_ Maggie shook her head, as if clearing it.

"So, what's the plan now?" Greg then asked, unbuckling his seat belt and taking his kit out. Nick had killed the engine by then, the three of them sweating as soon as the heat came back into the car.

"I guess we're questioning the manager of this place and then looking around," Maggie said with another sigh, getting out of her seat as she, too, unbuckled and opened her door.

~00~

Nick, Greg and Maggie entered the main office together, relieved when air conditioning hit their faces. Their kits in hand, they strolled over to the front counter, a middle-aged, slightly obese man sitting behind it, a magazine covering his sleeping form, his light snores reverberating throughout the room.

Greg noticed a bell on the counter, next to a book containing information about the people who came in and out with times, dates, pricing and even companions. He eyed it with an excited silence, motioning with his head to the elder C.S.I.'s to look at it. Nick, putting his kit down and taking gloves out of it, passed by Greg and took the book into his hands, flipping through its pages and noting the dates in his mind. Mouthing, "They were here" to the other two, Nick put the book down in its proper places and took his gloves off, throwing them out in a wastebasket next to him and then nodding his head at Greg to ring the bell.

When the _ding_ echoed in the room, the manager quickly woke up, the magazine slipping off of his face as he woke up, frantically searching left and right for the noise. Then, looking forward to the three, he sighed, groaning as he got up to face them. Leaning heavily on the counter, he smiled at them.

"You must be the crime scene people that Mr. Grissom called about," the man started, putting out his hand, as if he expected the three to shake it. "Rick, Rick Moren is my name. I'm in charge of this dump. And you are?"

Maggie, Nick and Greg simultaneously flipped out their I.D.'s at the manager to verify who they were. "I'm C.S.I. Nick Stokes," Nick replied, keeping an unusual poker face as he put the I.D. away and took the grimy hand. "This is Margaret O'Keefe and Greg Sanders."

"Wait, aren't you that C.S.I. who killed that guy at the high school who murdered your parents and those other people?" Rick looked to Maggie wide-eyed as he let go of Nick's hand, seeing her familiar face from years ago. "I remember that. That was a few years back, wasn't it? I'm surprised you're back here. Thought old Mobley would have kicked you out of town a while back."

"We're here to investigate the upstairs room that C.S.I. Kearns was in," Maggie sighed, only emphasizing that, putting her I.D. away as well and getting to the point of the visit. Ignoring the jab in the meantime, she added, "Other than seeing her on various nights with a man, can you remember anything else?"

"I just told that detective what I knew," Rick said, slicking his hand back over a receding hairline. "She came in with that man in her arms about three times a week – Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays – and they both stayed the night. Paid every time, always stayed until about five-thirty in the morning and then left together."

"We need all of the receipts and/or checks to their visits," Greg chimed in, writing everything Rick said down in his notepad after putting his own I.D. away. "Who paid?"

"That's the thing, C.S.I. Sanders," Rick replied in a mocking manner, shrugging his shoulders (Nick and Maggie could not tell if he was being disrespectful or was just annoyed that they disturbed his nap). "They never used a credit card or a paper from the bank. The man used cash. She just giggled and smiled, like an ornament. She was just there to look pretty."

"Describe him." Greg flipped a page over and posed his pen ready to write more down. Maggie and Nick exchanged looks and backed away, letting Greg handle the situation.

"Your detective should have it, but I'll repeat it anyway. The guy was a bit tall with sandy blonde hair, like dark blonde almost, with a tan even. No freckles, but he had a tattoo on his neck. Some snake going 'round and 'round or something like that. Dark brown eyes, I think. I could not tell."

"If you saw him, could you positively identify him as the man with C.S.I. Kearns?"

"Sure, I could, but I don't know if he'll answer to the name he put down in the book. The man said he goes by a few names, but he was courteous enough to leave his real one. I have a copy of his drivers' license around here somewhere. I'll give it to you fine people when you're finished here." Rick paused. "Say, don't you people talk with your detectives?" He peered over at Maggie and Nick, who stood over in a corner, awkward as Greg took control of the questioning. "You two sure need to talk things over. You both look like you're two kids shoved together in a desk pod and miserable because you're told to be quiet in class."

"Right now, it's not imperative to the investigation," Nick, as the senior C.S.I., replied in a stiff voice. "Which room was used?"

"Top floor, room four," Rick said, taking a key out from behind him and tossing it to Nick as the three picked up their kits, Greg putting his notes away. "The two have not been around since before this thing began, I think it was last Saturday, the fourteenth o' June. Then, three days later, I get some police in here about a kidnapping and whatever. I just hope everything is ok with the girl. I heard about the other one that was murdered. I'm just so sorry about him, too."

The sentiment seemed very sincere, but Maggie found it forced. _Warrick deserves more than that._ "Thank you, Mr. Moren, for your cooperation. We'll be back for the picture of the drivers' license when we are done with the room."

Taking the lead immediately afterward, Maggie reluctantly walked out of the office, feeling Rick Moren's stare on her back. Nick and Greg followed her, complaining about the heat as soon as they went outside, but they both soon grew somber as they mounted the stairs that led to their destination.

* * *

**In less than an hour over here, it'll be the New Year. So, let me tell everybody HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011! I hope you have a safe and happy holiday with everybody you love.**


	13. Behind the Yellow Crime Scene Tape

Yellow crime scene tape covered the doorway to room four. Nick pulled some of it aside, unlocking the door and letting the other two C.S.I.'s inside the room. As Maggie went inside behind him, she noted her surroundings. Despite the outside appearance of utter carelessness, the inside of the room seemed adequate and quite neat, but also empty of personal belongings. As the cars whizzing by shook the building, so did the pale red room. Decorated with only light red curtains, a bed and nightstand, a T.V. and remote and a small dresser with a vase full of fake flowers, it also hosted a small bathroom and a large window at the other end, dropping down to the roof of the changing rooms for the pool in the back.

All three put gloves on. Greg then took out a camera and started taking pictures, carefully dismantling each piece of furniture in both rooms. Nick only took the door and then the bathroom, but called out within a few minutes that he found nothing, not even fingerprints or evidence that somebody had been residing in the room. Maggie quickly surveyed the bed and the windows. First pulling apart the fake flowers on the dresser when Greg was done photographing, she only saw a light coating of dust, as if the piece was not disturbed for some time. Then, she moved to the bed, noting the clean sheets. She knew that the lab had the sheets found at the time of the crime, so would find nothing on them.

_What was Grissom thinking? Hell, what was _I_ thinking? We would find nothing here._ "Has anything else in the room changed, other than the sheets?" Maggie asked Nick, who had just come out of the bathroom.

"Not that I know of," Nick replied carefully, also seeing that that the bed was no longer stripped. He then stood next to Maggie. "They put them on after Grissom, Catherine and Sara came in and they already bagged the other set."

"But why is the question. Why change the sheets when this is clearly a crime scene?" Maggie shook her head, trying to piece the puzzle together.

Then, grabbing some equipment from his kit to answer the next unspoken question, Nick plugged in the familiar lights that check for sex stains. Asking Greg to stop photographing and to pull the curtains aside for darkness, Nick put aside the pillows and sheets and slowly waved the ultraviolet light around, finding nothing. Telling the younger C.S.I. to resume his work, Nick put everything away, facing Maggie.

"Nothing here obviously," Nick said, rolling his eyes with frustration and taking off his gloves.

"No, but there's one more place I wanna check." Maggie motioned to the window, also noticing that Greg was done storing the pictures he took of the two rooms, looking bored. "Greg, head to the manager downstairs and get that copy of the drivers' license. Maybe we can get something."

Muttering an agreement and realizing that it was waiting for somebody to bring in for evidence, Greg packed up some of the equipment that was his and walked out of the room, pictures almost fluttering out of his hands. This allowed Maggie to be alone with Nick, to voice her concerns and worries. She didn't quite like Greg being privy to their conversations, despite all of them being co-workers and having the ability to work together without secrets.

"What's on your mind?" Nick asked Maggie walked to the window, pulling the curtains aside carefully. Those, too, looked clean, but the C.S.I. was more concerned with the window itself.

"Nobody could have gotten in and out, right? Nothing seemed to be disturbed, of course, except for the sheets. And the only way out is the window. So…" Maggie carefully looked at the edges and crevices of the window. Then, seeing nothing again, she went to open it, seeing something thin and shiny in the sunshine as she did.

"Do you have an evidence bag?" she asked with excitement when seeing the hair.

"See something?" Nick handed her a bag and a pair of tweezers.

"A hair…and I think it's somebody's." Maggie's optimism was contagious, making Nick even smile at their break, despite her opening it up to the heated outdoor catastrophe. "There's no way out the door, so there's gotta to be a way out the window obviously. But, it's a long way down."

Nick took the tweezers and the evidence bag from Maggie's hands when everything was securely sealed, putting on a new set of gloves as that was put away. Suddenly behind her as the hot air reached beyond the opened glass, he grabbed Maggie's waist quickly as she leaned forward thoughtlessly, looking down at the roof of the changing rooms for the pool outdoors.

"You think you can do your job without trying to kill yourself?" Nick sharply asked Maggie, wanting it to be more sarcastic than angry.

"You think you can do yours without criticizing mine?" Maggie huffed and puffed, but controlled her own anger, not enjoying being suspended above a steaming, black tar roof. It certainly wasn't one of her smarter moves, but she needed to see what was down there at a closer angle. She also felt lucky that Nick grabbed her before she hit her head.

"Not really, but I'm sure you can't help your predicament here."

"I can so. It's just that danger likes to follow me around. I don't search for it, like people have claimed I did."

"I don't doubt it, Maggie. But, is there a reason why I'm holding you around your waist as you look down at some roof? See anything down there or can I pull you back in 'fore my hands get slick and let go?"

"Not yet, not yet, I see something. Something…shiny?"

"There is a _lot_ of shiny things on a hot Las Vegas day, Maggs. Mind telling me what's down there?"

"It's…confetti, like the type they use in a night club or someplace at the Strip. There's isn't a lot here, just a colony of glitter here. No, that's it! Reel me back in, Nick!"

Panting, the C.S.I. pulled his co-worker back inside, shutting the window behind him. "And what does a 'colony' of glittery confetti have to do with this case?" he asked her, his irate words plainly showing on his face. "It could have gotten there in any way."

"Everything, seeing as how Quentin Tanner is a Strip Club manager," Greg interrupted suddenly, coming back into the room with the paperwork Rick Moren had given him. "It could have accidentally been dropped from his clothes when he took Ursula Kearns."

Maggie smiled, patting Nick on the back and handing him an evidence bag from her kit. "So, Nick, you want to get that stuff from the roof?"

~00~

Brass, coming with them after finding their suspect's home to be empty, locked up and almost homeless, followed Nick and Maggie as they headed to the Strip later that evening, where Quentin Tanner worked. The Pure Night Club flashed lights, buzzed with music and hummed with patrons as the small dance floor filled up and the terrace held mingling friends. Drinks were served at the bar, where the two met after separating in the parking lot. Brass waited in the dark corners as the undercover couple drank slowly, his ear piece hidden as he carefully watched the two C.S.I.'s, talking to them.

"You hear me over this ruckus?" Brass asked the two through the wireless communication set.

"Loud and clear," Maggie answered quietly for herself and Nick, trying to put her attentions on her partner, as according to the plan. _Why we do this together, I don't know. Grissom is busy again with another case with Sara and Catherine has Greg on another. It's me and Nick on this one, as Ecklie requested. Dammit._

"I can't hear much over the music in these crowds," Nick said randomly, looking for Quentin Tanner at the same time as he scanned the bar area and dance floor. He then grabbed a waitress and asked her something, but Maggie could not hear what they were saying.

"I can't either, Nick. Let's just listen in for Brass and keep up with the scene." Maggie looked around as well, seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

_Yo, listen up: here's a story__  
__About a little guy that lives in a blue world__  
__And all day and all night and everything he sees is__  
__Just blue like him inside and outside__  
__Blue his house with a blue little window__  
__And a blue Corvette and everything is blue for him__  
__And himself and everybody around__  
__'Cause he ain't got nobody to listen_

_I'm blue, da ba dee die…__  
__I'm blue, da ba dee die…_

"Hey, look over there. See the guy with the paperwork and drink?" Nick asked as he let go of the waitress, nudging Maggie in the arm with his elbow. Maggie herself was already felt a little woozy with the drinks she had…too many on the job, she thought, as she watched the waitress walk away and followed Nick's directions.

"I think so," she replied, squinting her eyes to see what Nick was talking about. Seeing it, she added, "Oh, him! He's been doing that all evening. Why?"

"Just askin', Maggs. Nothing to get excited about. I just asked one of the waitresses who he was and got what we wanted. I already told Brass and he's on it right now." Nick sipped his drink. "Come on, let's go dancing on the floor."

"Ok…sure…Nick, hold on…Nick!" Maggie felt dizzy as she was practically picked up from her seat and dragged to the dance floor. Swirls of color went passed her eyes, but she seemed to enjoy it.

_I have a blue house with a blue window__  
__Blue is the color of all that I wear__  
__Blue are the streets and all the trees are too__  
__I have a girlfriend and she is so blue__  
__Blue are the people here that walk around__  
__Blue like my Corvette, it's standing outside__  
__Blue are the words I say and what I think__  
__Blue are the feelings that live inside me_

_I'm blue, da ba dee die…__  
__I'm blue, da ba dee die…_

"When should we approach the suspect?" Maggie asked Brass a few minutes later through her communication set as the music reached a point where it allowed them to talk. "We spot him now. He's in sight."

"In a few minutes," was the soft answer followed by more curses about the music and how loud it was already.

"Not in a good mood, are we?" Nick asked, referring to the detective as they continued to dance wildly.

"I don't think so, Nick. And I don't think I want to drink on the job again, even if it is undercover. I'm starting to feel sick as hell."

"Oh ho, so our Maggie can't hold her liquor. Can you hold it in or do you need to be escorted to the ladies' room?"

"_Duh_, I'm still dizzy and need to sit down. And I can hold my alcohol, Nick. I'm just…"

"Tired? Needing me?" Nick moved in closer, quickly putting his arms around Maggie and kissing her on the mouth when she looked up at him with a questioning stare. And, not knowing if it was part of the act or not, Maggie returned the kiss, a tingling feeling running up and down her spine.

_Dammit, I missed that. No, Maggie, you don't need. You put Nick away three years ago. And now, there you are, kissing him again, just like we were together once more._

"Ok, you two lovebirds, move in. Suspect is about to bail. He's gathering up his paperwork and leaving." Brass' confident voice filled both of their ear pieces. It motivated them off of the dance floor, albeit shockingly getting their lips untangled, and they headed over innocently enough to the table where Quentin Tanner was about to leave. However, the manager of the club took it as a threat and saw them and Brass on the other side, knowing who they were. He then started running, abandoning his papers on the table.

"Suspect is running! I repeat, suspect is running!" Maggie yelled as she pushed people out of her way to reach Quentin Tanner. "Las Vegas C.S.I.'s! Move aside!"

_I have a blue house with a blue window__  
__Blue is the color of all that I wear__  
__Blue are the streets and all the trees are too__  
__I have a girlfriend and she is so blue__  
__Blue are the people here that walk around__  
__Blue like my Corvette, it's standing outside__  
__Blue are the words I say and what I think__  
__Blue are the feelings that live inside me_

_I'm blue, da ba dee die…__  
__I'm blue, da ba dee die…_

"Mr. Tanner! Las Vegas police!" Brass yelled as he ran towards the suspect, flashing his badge quickly, the two C.S.I.'s coming in from the other side.

"Take one end and I'll get another," Nick yelled at Maggie as they separated into two different directions. Nick moved to the right, where an exit was, leaving Maggie to the left, where the bar was. It made her circle, but there was also another exit by the bar, which led to an alleyway.

Pulling herself out into the cool night air as she passed through the bar without incident, Maggie stood out in the alleyway, waiting only seconds for the suspect to come out from the other door. As expected, Quentin Tanner did. With Maggie behind him, he had an escape past her, but a fence to climb, the other side leading out into the parking lot. However, when Brass and Nick came out of the same door he exited not even a second later, Tanner was trapped. All three picked up their guns and surrounded him.

Tanner raised his arms in a quick surrender.


	14. Framed

"I'm telling you, Detective Brass, I have no idea about a kidnapping or some C.S.I. from Hartford, Connecticut named Ursula Kearns. Do I need to say it again? I don't know the woman at all!" Tanner, the same man that Rick Moren described, claimed innocence about five minutes after Brass questioned him about his motives.

"I'm just a bachelor who owns some crummy night club on the Strip," Tanner added after about a moment of silence, Brass staring angrily back at him. "Detective, I haven't screwed with anybody since my wife divorced me. You have got to believe me!"

"Well, according to your finances, your 'club' seems to be doing well and the ladies that come in seem to like you," Brass replied coolly, trying to keep his frustrations in as his eyes followed the snake's coils on the suspect's neck, watching him squirm in his seat on the other side of the table, ignoring the statements about an ex. "That's far from 'crummy', Mr. Tanner."

"Yeah, but…well, you're right. My club is far from 'crummy'. But, this isn't the point here. Detective, I swear, I had nothing to do with this investigation!"

"Then explain why you ran when you saw us coming. How did you know that Nick Stokes and Margaret O'Keefe were C.S.I.'s undercover?"

"I didn't. I just thought you guys were the cops coming after me. I had some traffic violation a couple of days before out on the Strip and I ran from the cops before they could ticket me because I was in a hurry to get to work and didn't like how I was harassed. I thought you were chasing me around for that."

Sara came into the observation room, seeing Maggie there, watching the scenes with an obvious keen interest. After coming in and hearing Tanner explain about his traffic violation, Sara said to her, "I checked that out. This Quentin Tanner was the club owner who liked to get traffic tickets and ignore them, pleading not guilty to each one. We have the wrong person, if Eric Jacobson was telling us the truth."

"What do you mean?" Maggie turned to Sara, ignoring Brass' repeating questions to Quentin Tanner through his intimidation methods.

"Well, your ex _was_ telling the truth, as far as we know. Witnesses put him on Alloy Street the days he said he was there. The hooker, Lynda, vouched for him and even mentioned – well, a lot more than that, but I won't get into any good details. Now, it's more of a matter of _finding_ out where the _real_ Quentin Tanner is. Or, for that matter, we need to find out where his sister and wife are, if your ex was telling us the truth."

"Anybody check out the residence lately?" Maggie felt a chill down her spine again, but ignored it. "I bet that something can be found on Alloy Street or even on Clark Avenue, like Eric said."

"Mrs. Karen Tanner apparently moved out of her old apartment after her first husband, Jason Napolitano, had…died…and moved to another just down the street," Sara reported with sheer accuracy. "Brass and his men have yet to find out where she and her children – between the ages of five and eleven, according to Child Services – are situated. There are a lot of old backyard apartment unaccounted for on Alloy and many of the residents don't like to tattle of their neighbors, especially when neighborhood battles come often."

"So I remember. So I remember well." Maggie, with Sara following her instantly, then turned back to the interrogation room's action as soon as something new and interesting in the case's development came out of Tanner's mouth when Brass asked about Rick Moren and the White Sands Motel.

"Rick Moren, you say? That name doesn't even ring a bell. I don't know anybody by that name unless you mean that fat guy that owns the cheesy motel down on Las Vegas Boulevard South. Detective, that man's name isn't Rock Moren, in that case. His name is the same as mine, Quentin Tanner. He has a wife and a few stepchildren down on Alloy and has a younger sister named Hannah Tanner on Clark Avenue."

"Are you sure about that, Mr. Tanner?" Brass looked slightly stunned and a little annoyed, as if somebody had slapped him in the face. There was another twist in the case and it wasn't as easy as he thought it was going to be.

"I'm sure, Detective Brass. I can't forget a face."

"You still have not told me how you've meet this…Quentin Tanner."

The club owner looked Brass in the face, honesty blazing in his eyes. "I met him because I had a flat tire and his dirty motel was the first place I could pull into without disturbing traffic on all sides. I pulled in after the car was in control, went inside to the man office and told the man what happened. He was nice enough to help me change the flat, gave me his business card and go back inside. I didn't blame him, though. This Vegas heat is a killer!"

"What next, Mr. Tanner?" Brass sighed as the suspect handed him the business card, as if confirming his story. The detective took one good look at it and tucked it into a folder, to be put into evidence later.

"I followed him inside, since I wanted to get out of the heat. We talked a little about each other. I bitched a bit about my ex-wife and how she emptied out my bank account after our divorce and he talked about his sister, stepchildren and wife and how the wife bitches about her previous husband that was killed in a high school shooting." Tanner looked at Brass skeptically, almost not adding another word to the questioning session before reminding him about the incident at the Vegas high school a few years previously. "The man started it, I heard, and almost got away with it, wanting to disappear for the murders, kidnappings and rapes he committed. I kinda remembered it, too, when it was on the news or something. The man was shot down by a C.S.I. in self-defense, wasn't he?"

"Is this a part of the investigation?" Brass knew that Maggie was listening in behind him and tried to steer the conversation away from her before more people found out about her. He knew that she didn't want more attention than she already had, Nick the least of her problems.

"I don't know, Detective, but that's all I know. I told you that I was innocent of this except maybe the traffic ticket. I should have gotten that one."

"You seem to have a lot of trouble with car and driving."

The club owner smiled. "I usually do. It's like a part of my job."

Brass sighed again and got up from his seat. "Ok, Mr. Tanner, you're free to go. A uniformed officer will escort you out. Just keep yourself available in case we have more questions."

"I plan to be," Tanner replied softly, getting up from his seat on the other side of the table and following Brass out.

"What do you think of that?" Sara asked Maggie sarcastically as the duo left the interrogation room with another police officer. "Your ex was telling the truth after all. And he actually didn't lie about anything so far."

"I think that's the only thing he has right now," Maggie replied back, thinking. "Everything he gave us is his ticket out. So far, so good. He's been released a day now and has been in contact with us. His phone call to Brass should be coming in anytime now."

"Yeah, Eric's a piece of work, but I'm glad he's on our side now. In the meantime, if this Quentin Tanner was just another guy that the motel owner wanted to frame, what was he doing while we're here?"

"He knows we're on his trail, Sara. And if he does, then he's buying time. With that time, what would he do? Get out of sight or destroy the evidence before we get to him. Remember? He knows now that we've connected the dots with this Quentin Tanner and now, he's out the door. He's already back on Alloy Street probably and hiding the rest of the evidence."

"Which is why the White Sands Motel is now a vacant lot," Catherine blurted out as she unexpectedly came into the room, his breath coming in gasps, as if she had been running a long distance.

"What?" Sara raised an eyebrow.

"Grissom just received a call from the fire department. The White Sands Motel has been burned to the ground this afternoon, right after Maggie, Nick and Greg left. The heat didn't help, so the whole building is destroyed, evidence and all."

"Any causalities from this…fire?" Maggie asked quietly, not wanting to know the answer, knowing that somehow, she would not like what Catherine said…trying to keep her own nervous excitement from getting to her.

"Yes, there was, and Doc Robbins has him in the morgue now," Catherine answered uneasily.

"Well, who is it?" Sara asked impatiently, crossing her arms.

"Another murder, we think, but there isn't any evidence yet until we get through the autopsy," the assistant supervisor carefully worded. "The body was a John Doe until his drivers' license was pulled from his wallet and a small amount of D.N.A. positively identified him as Eric Jacobson, our former suspect who was supposed to call Brass in with more information."


	15. Don't Fear the Reaper

A knock on the front door of their parents' former home brought Rachael there while Maggie did hers and Michael's laundry down in the basement. Chris was busily cooking in the kitchen (remodeled slightly), talking on the phone with their brother and sister-in-law, trying to get the two to see Maggie again, seeing Michael for the first time. Even hearing the playful noises of her son and nephew in the living room – also newly remodeled, the windows and furniture changed – made her feel secure and a little safe, as if this case was not close to her again, as if Ursula's kidnapping had not happened

_But if it could happen to my best friend, then it could happen to anybody. I was kidnapped a few years back so that Jason could complete an obsession he had years before. Michael is a product of that, despite my efforts otherwise. It was not a total mistake on my part, but it had some serious consequences to it, including aiding in the destruction in a perfect relationship. And if those also include another C.S.I. disaster, then can we take it, especially after Warrick was murdered? Hell, it seems like every time I come back to this city, something like this has to happen. Am I really that cursed?_

Taking an iron to smooth out the wrinkles in one of her work blouses after rotating the clothes, Maggie worked quietly, carefully, as if disturbing the important phone call upstairs would destroy all of her chances on reconciling with Eddie and Grace. She left the situation to Chris and never told him what she really felt about it (trepidation), fearing again that another case from work would ruin her family again.

The knock on the door upstairs caught her attention, though. Dinnertime at the O'Keefe place, even when their parents were alive, had been a family affair and most people knew not to disturb them unless they were guests, although Maggie and her brothers had been more lenient as time passed. The person at the door must have known that, too, but kept persistent in wanting to see somebody.

"Maggie! Nick is here!" Rachael's melodious voice was heard as her soft footsteps came across the basement ceiling and the door opened.

The C.S.I. – turned into a simple housemaid for a moment before her night shift – sighed and put the hot iron down, wishing for more time in the day to do normal things like laundry. "I'm coming up! I'll be a minute."

Turning off and unplugging the iron and running up the stairs, Maggie thanked Rachael, who left the door open for her, and passed a curious Chris in the hallway, meeting Nick at the front doorway, sweating from the heat and relieved about the home's air conditioning.

"I thought I wasn't seeing you until later," Maggie commented as Nick smiled.

"I might as well be the messenger," Nick replied, sounding tired. "I want you to hear this from my mouth before you go on shift with me tonight."

"Because we all know Grissom is a great diplomat." Maggie got the hint immediately and took Nick upstairs to her bedroom, closing the door behind them. Then, plugging in her stereo on the desk quickly, she put on a C.D., to drown out their voices so that nobody could hear them.

_All of our times have come  
Here, but now they're gone  
Seasons don't fear the reaper  
Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain  
We can be like they are…_

_Come on, baby  
Don't fear the reaper…  
Baby, take my hand  
Don't fear the reaper…  
We'll be able to fly  
Don't fear the reaper…  
Baby, I'm your man_

"Getting used to people not hearing us or something?" Nick asked as the C.D. played, the loud volume shaking the bedroom, the wall hangings rattling with fear at such power.

"I guess." Maggie paused. "So, what do you have to tell me because Grissom can't?"

"Other than murder in the air again, there's nothing more."

"Are you serious, Nick? That's all you have to say?"

"Maggie, I _am_ serious and have been for a while now. When they are police parole vehicles out there, making sure you're not in trouble again, then, yeah, I guess I have to be serious with you."

"So, what did Doc Robbins find in the dead body?" Maggie didn't want to think about Eric's burnt body as she went to inspect it earlier that day, identifying the body as his. It made her sick when she pictured the last of her ex-boyfriend on that metal slab, the finale called death taking him instead of her.

"Eric Jacobson was obviously shot to death before he made his trip into the fire," Nick reported somewhat grimly as the two sat on her bed, the music ringing. "Doc Robbins wrote that as the sole cause of death. Whoever did pull the trigger, though, wanted people to think that he was trapped inside and died in it. The bullet was almost missed had he not investigated further."

Maggie gulped, her cold hands suddenly grabbing Nick's in a panic. "The question is, was he at the motel when he was shot or was he dragged there before somebody set the fire?"

"Shot in the parking lot," was the reply. "Catherine found the blood splatter after the fire department was finished with the scene and the body was removed."

_Valentine is done  
Here, but now they're gone  
Romeo and Juliet are together in eternity  
Romeo and Juliet…  
Forty thousand men and women everyday  
Like Romeo and Juliet…  
Forty thousand men and women everyday  
Redefine happiness…  
Another forty thousand coming everyday  
We can be like they are…_

_Come on, baby  
Don't fear the reaper…  
Baby, take my hand  
Don't fear the reaper…  
We'll be able to fly  
Don't fear the reaper…  
Baby, I'm your man_

Maggie shuddered. "Then somebody was out to get him. I know that he was released two days ago by Brass and allowed to be free just as long as he provided more information to the case if he found it, seeing as how he could contact anybody in the household. He called in that day and was supposed to – oh, my God, Nick. He was supposed to be at the White Sands Motel last night. Maybe that's what happened. He went there to call Brass or something and was attacked somewhere."

"Maggs, you're ram –"

"Stop calling me that, Nick! Only Ursula can. And I'm not rambling. I'm thinking about the case. Now, where was the blood splatter found? You said something about the parking lot. Ok, did somebody see somebody? There's traffic on all sides. Did anybody see anything?"

Nick put his hands up in defeat, letting go of Maggie's. "Ok, ok, Maggie. Here's the scoop. Just don't say it's from me or Catherine will kill me. She wanted to keep some of it from you, but since it's mostly our case unless otherwise told, you should be in the loop."

The C.S.I. leaned forward in interest, hiding her distress.

Nick sighed. "Yeah, well, the blood splatter was on a handicapped space, where nobody could see or hear anything. It's around a couple of things, like the main office and such. Grissom and Catherine processed the scene."

"So, nobody saw or heard anything?"

"Exactly, Maggie. So, we're almost back to square one."

"Almost, Nick, but we still have names and a couple of places. What did Eric tell Brass the first night?"

"The usual things, but he also mentioned that Hannah Tanner was at home often and that there was another woman with her at the kitchen table, having coffee with her. Apparently, your abusive ex was doing some snooping of his own, changing his mind about a lot of things. It was like he humbled a little but before he was killed."

"And this may have gotten him into some serious trouble. Did he catch what the other woman looked like?"

"Well, yes and no. He said that it looked like Ursula, but he couldn't be so sure."

Maggie felt a lump in her throat form, blocking out air.

"Furthermore," Nick added, "we can't be sure if we can believe him or not. Brass and his men have been investigating that house for days and have found nothing but the Hannah Tanner doing her errands, going to work, whatever. Ursula is not around, they said. And the officers have been looking up and down that house for days now."

"Didn't they check any possible places where a person could be hidden?" Maggie hoped, but it went out her window when she saw Nick's face.

"She hasn't been found yet, Maggie." He put his hands back on hers. "We'll keep looking."

_Love of two is one  
Here, but now they're gone  
Came the last night of sadness  
When it was clear she couldn't go on  
The door was opened and the wind appeared  
The candles blew and then disappeared  
The curtains flew and he appeared  
Saying, "Don't be afraid!"  
"Come on, baby!"  
And she had no fear…_

_And she ran to him  
And they started to fly…  
They looked backwards and said goodbye  
She had taken his hand  
She had become like they are…  
Come on, baby  
Don't fear the reaper…_

The two were unvoiced for a while, listening to the music roll past them as tracks played. Then, after twenty minutes (and a warning from Chris that dinner was within the hour), Nick broke the silence, rubbing Maggie's hands with his thumbs again.

"So, what's with us?" he asked Maggie, looking into her eyes.

The other raised an eyebrow, trying not to choke on her emotions, trying to be stoic. "I don't know, Pancho. I just don't know anymore. I still love you and I want to be with you. I just don't know if it's possible or not now."

"It was before. Can't it be now?"

"Because we haven't really worked out everything yet and I don't wanna put you through anything _ever_ again. Nick, I have a child. He's nearly four years old now. Can _you___handle that? Can you play father to a child who has been scared of his own shadow all of his life, knowing that his biological father was a murderer and rapist?"

"How could he know, Maggie? He's four."

"Children have ears, Nick, and they pick up things quickly. I didn't need to say anything to him. He heard everything once when I brought him to work when I couldn't find a babysitter. It was a mistake on my part, but I had no choice really. I didn't take him out on the field and did paperwork all day, but he heard a lot while he was playing. And by the end of the shift, he was crying and wishing that he was never born. It took a _year_ of therapy to fix it and make him a normal child again."

"Sometimes, I wish it were a solution to everything, too." Nick looked at Maggie with pleading eyes, wanting to tell her something, but keeping it back. "I'm glad he's ok, though."

"I agree." Maggie met Nick's glaze, knowing what it meant: despair, wanting, fear even. "Do you need to talk about something?" she then asked softly.

"Not yet. You're not ready." The C.S.I. shook his head.

"Then, that's something I can agree to," Maggie only replied, hearing another call for dinner from her brother.


	16. They Escaped!

**Sorry about the delay in chapters. Things have been busy later and I've been preparing for the next semester, which is in another week (surprise to me really), and doing other things. Another chapter is closer to be finished, so be patient and it'll be up soon. Many thanks. Please review!**

* * *

Maggie kneeled and looked through a pair of binoculars behind some bushes, spying on Hannah Tanner's house later on that night with some of the police officers assigned to watch the house and its occupant until suspicion was off of her. She was still a person of interest, according to Brass, and the recent finds in her home (a search warrant coming in handy after she assaulted an officer when being questioned again about the kidnapping, released by Ecklie when she had admitted to nothing), including a basement with extra, secret rooms and holes in her floors, gave them a reason to keep watching her, although she was not aware of the L.V.M.P.D. some hundred yards away, they all hoped.

The cool Las Vegas air dropped down on the Force, smothering the company and comforting them, but it could not provide a conclusion to the case they were trying to solve and it frustrated Maggie to no end, especially because she and Michael were still in semi-protective custody (along with Chris, Rachael and Robbie) and the case was yet to be solved. It didn't even endear her to Eddie and Grace, who refused to see her because of her career and even because she was living with Chris and his family.

"Anything yet?" Brass asked behind her as the thoughts raced in her mind, kneeling next to her. "I just received a call from Grissom while you were kneeling there, looking all pretty. Want to know what it was about?"

"No, not now…and I see nothing but Hannah Tanner having dinner with somebody who looks like her," Maggie quickly replied in a military-like report, smiling as she focused more on the man in the window. "It's a man, all right, but is it the same Quentin Tanner that we saw at the White Sands Motel? I can't see. I need a closer look."

The C.S.I. focused her binoculars closer to the man by the dining room window of Hannah Tanner's home, finally getting a nice look at him, but just barely. Maggie saw him sit down at a table and that was all.

"I think it's him, Brass," Maggie finally said after a minute, seeing the middle aged, beer bellied man sitting down to dinner with his sister. "It might be. I can't see much of –"

"Captain Brass, visual on the suspects!" one of the uniformed officers said.

"Let me see." Maggie abandoned her post (Brass behind her) and went over to where some police officers were, taking the binoculars from the one who called out to Brass. Looking in the same direction, she smiled, adding in a second, "Yep, that's them, all right. Can we move in now?"

"Yes," Brass replied, also smiling, confident that the case was about to be closed. Then, taking out his walkie-talkie, he called out, "All units: prepare to move in. Suspects have been spotted."

"No, wait, Brass, don't let them go yet!" Maggie watched the duo through the lenses still as they got up, upset, and looked out of the dining room's window suddenly, possibly seeing the spies outside as they both lifted up guns. "Suspects have spotted us! I repeat, Brass: they know we're here."

Brass reiterated Maggie's observation through the walkie-talkie, watching as his people move in quicker, half of them banging on the door and requesting the two suspects to open the door and the other half surrounding the house. However, Maggie knew what was going to happen: the two would disappear and escape without answering the door, as they seemed to have done within seconds as she observed them through the glass, hearing the door being opened. Startled, the C.S.I. watched as Hannah Tanner ran in one direction and her brother in another, their dinner left neglected, steaming on the table.

Maggie finally put down the binoculars. "They escaped," she said in one breath, as if the two words were one, her stomach feeling as if somebody had punched it. "Brass, dammit, they escaped us again!"

"Hold on, Margaret, they're in," Brass answered her sharply (adding insult to injury, ignoring the C.S.I. for the moment), hearing of his men's search of the house after they broke down the door, all units reporting nothing out of the ordinary, not finding the brother and sister anywhere, not even in the spots naked to the human eye, spots they had previously found when it was pointed out that the house was full of secret passageways and hiding holes. "Dammit, they're gone!" he finally added, swearing as he threw the walkie-talkie to the ground and broke it.

"I told you so, Detective, if I must brag."

"No, you didn't –"

"Yes, Brass, I did tell you that they were escaping. Have your men search the premise for one of their hiding holes. Remember that the house had many of them?"

Brass blinked at the C.S.I., steam coming out of ears, his red face displaying his displeasure at the situation…and the C.S.I. "Don't you _dare_ tell me how to work at my job," he snarled out, already angry about losing the suspects, but angrier about being interrupted.

"Then don't ask me to tag along on one of your adventures," Maggie replied simply, her own anger simmering on a low heat. She put her hands on her hips as she put the equipment down. "I came along because you asked. I_ also_ came along because Ecklie wanted me out of the way and liked your suggestion about keeping me from snooping around the lab, asking questions. So, next time you don't want a teammate and don't want Grissom up your ass, then do tell me. I'll keep to myself, as always. I've always been good about that. I can simply put up with paperwork all night or ask for the night off. I _would_ like to spend some time with my son, you know. I haven't really seen him recently."

"Then, next time, choose a career that won't get you too involved." Brass had calmed down, but not enough when hearing the soft retort.

"Kinda tough when I wanted to something that nobody else wanted to do, but paid the serious consequences for them," Maggie replied, remembering Jason Napolitano clearly in her mind. Then, seeing the officers come back, she asked, "What now?"

"Grissom's phone call," Brass reminded her, silently asking for a truce as he put his hand out. As Maggie took it, he explained, "Gil called to inform us that the searches on Alloy Street have revealed nothing and that Karen Tanner and her children, as well as Ursula Kearns, are nowhere to be seen. Nobody would say anything and your ex was _going_ to tell me where she lived when we found him dead." He paused. "He also received a phone call from the kidnapper, the same that phoned him earlier about taking Ursula. Well, the computerized voice demanded that an exchange take place tomorrow night, during the shift at midnight."

"I take it that I'm to be the one exchanged?" Maggie asked, exasperated.

"Exactly," Brass replied. "You for Ursula Kearns, exchanged at the Sunset Park out on East Sunset Road."

Maggie slapped her forehead with frustration. "And what did I do this time?"

"Considering that the dots were connected while you were out here, I'll clue you in, as Nick has been doing." Brass smiled, a sarcastic tone coating his words. "It's a matter of revenge. Karen Napolitano Tanner was pissed about her husband's killing because it meant no money from him anymore, not even money from social security. She was getting used to the ladies coming in for help and still did help them. Then, in comes Quentin Tanner, who has some money owning a motel. The two scheme with the sister and find an easy target with Ursula Kearns because she's connected to you.''

"And because she's close to me, they think that they could get through to me by using her. They know that I would do anything for her because she's my friend."

"You're catching on quickly, Maggie. You sure you haven't been sticking your little nose into anything else these past few years?"

"Haha, very funny. No, I haven't. I've been a good little girl lately until this unexpectedly came. I just don't know how worse this'll be."

Brass' phone rang, interrupting the conversation for the moment. "Brass here."

After a few minutes of mumbled words from the other end of the phone, Brass added, "Sure thing, _Assistant_ Director. We're agreed to the terms for tomorrow night, as Grissom as told them a while ago."

Maggie heard Ecklie talk about how it looked for the L.V.M.P.D., but Brass snorted, adding after he was finished lecturing Brass, "You always were worried about appearances, Ecklie. We'll meet up tomorrow night."

Hanging up a second later, Brass looked at Maggie. "What?"

"I don't understand how you get away with it," Maggie laughed.

"He knows better," Brass replied, ordering the uniformed officers to pack up the gear and get back to Headquarters.

"And I don't?" Maggie asked, shaking her head as she picked up her kit, intent on going into the house to look for more clues about where the two went.

"No, you just like trouble." Brass shook his head as well. "I'll escort you in, Ms. O'Keefe. After that, you're on your own." He paused. "Oh, by the way, did I mention that Grissom said Greg took your computer from your apartment and from your office, to see what Ursula had been up to before the kidnapping, if any?"


	17. Betrayal in the Worst Way

_Nervous_ was barely a word to discuss the team going to Sunset Park the next night. In the Tahoe, as Grissom drove, were Nick, Maggie and Catherine. Sara, Brass, Ecklie and Greg rode in the Taurus behind them, the miles closing in the conclusion of the case, the hope in all of their minds. _And hopefully, the end to people trying to come after me,_ Maggie thought as the night skies at Sunset Park opened up to them brightly, allowing the police cruisers and C.S.I.'s to come in, headlights highlighting the tree lines and azure shadows jumping from tree to tree, bridge to bridge.

"Do they happen to know that we're coming?" Maggie asked Grissom as a fourth police car came up behind the Taurus. "If they didn't then, they might as well now."

"I don't think it's wise, but Assistant Director Ecklie insisted on it," Grissom replied stiffly, his dislike of Ecklie's decisions quite clear. "Usually, a few police cars have been spotted in this park daily, because of robbery, rape and murder once, so it shouldn't be unusual, especially if the person being exchanged should have a ride and some support from her co-workers. The kidnapper did not say anything about people coming, but to bring you."

Maggie visibly shuddered. Nick then leaned over next to her, taking her hand.

"Furthermore," Grissom added, as if he was relieving the tension in the car as they parked, "we are, after all, trying to make this as normal as possible. We're the legal nightly visitors to the park. Also remember: 'A goal without a plan is just a wish'."

Catherine chuckled softly, recalling to mind Maggie's case from three years ago, something that could have never been avoided, had she tried. "How about, 'What is started today is never finished tomorrow'? That's more appropriate."

"Or, as Albert Einstein said, 'You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anybody else'. I think we might have the upper hand, then, if we're playing this right." Maggie smiled, catching on quickly. "With the added 'support', not to mention Ecklie around, we might make this smoother than we thought. However, they might take this as an attack and hit back."

"So, we can play this to our advantage and pretend we know nothing, as usual," Nick added, shaking his head, laughing.

"Exactly," Maggie replied, feeling more confident. "I found nothing at the house last night, like anywhere else we've been investigating. Somebody called Grissom and asked for an exchange. Nobody knows where Karen Tanner and her children are and the only person who did is dead except…Lynda! The prostitute knew where they were housed. She showed Eric. Why didn't anybody think to question her?"

"We did, a while back, and when she showed where she took your ex, the backyard apartment was emptied," Grissom informed her as he parked, waiting for Ecklie to get out and give the signal for everybody to move out and take their place. "Nobody was there, but there were signs of people living there. The day shift took care of it and also found nothing but evidence that people lived there and that Ursula was there for a short time."

"Why didn't anybody tell me that?" Maggie demanded, becoming more and more irritated that she wasn't informed on the latest news on the case.

"You're not in the loop for much in this case unless Grissom and Ecklie say so," Catherine said in jest somewhat, the serious, reprimanding voice hidden behind her worry.

"It seems so. However, I keep getting dirty house duty and investigating the little nooks and crannies of the crime scenes. And yet, we still get _nothing_."

"We may be getting back to square one all the time, but we still have some leads."

"Yeah, Catherine, but using me as bait again and hoping for the best as uniformed guys and C.S.I.'s run around, hoping to get everyone in one piece and not have another person killed."

"Are you sure you're not on –?" Nick tried to joke as he butted into the conversation.

"No!" Maggie interrupted, practically screaming.

Ecklie tapped on the back passenger window. "Is there a problem, O'Keefe?" he asked, the stern voice muffled through the glass.

"No, _Assistant_ Director," Maggie replied as Brass did the night before, taking her hand out of Nick's as she opened the door to the Vegas heat and humidity. "Where the rendezvous point and how am I supposed to get there and stand?"

"Don't be so smart with me, O'Keefe." Ecklie backed away as the foursome exited the Tahoe. "The last time you played smart and ignored procedure, you –"

"Ecklie, I think it's almost time for the exchange," Brass interrupted, coming up from behind the Assistant Director. "It's after midnight and we have less than an hour. Gil said that the exchange is supposed to be over the bridge."

"Tell your men to take their places in the woods and around the island then, if they can handle it," Ecklie ordered, back to business. "We may be dealing with a setup and, if it is, we have the people to take care of it."

"What are you trying to say here, Ecklie?" Maggie demanded. "This isn't a setup. It's a kidnapping and murder case, all rolled into one!"

Ecklie turned to face Maggie as she stood beside the vehicle. "Sanders found information on your computer, shared with the supposed kidnapped person that might be relevant to the case." He paused, amused upon seeing the anger built up amongst everyone, save for Greg, before the truth slipped out. "It seems that, while you weren't paying attention, Ursula Kearns had been emailing her kidnappers. She made a deal with them, to switch you for her, in a perfectly staged kidnapping. You'll be killed for putting a bullet in Jason Napolitano's head and she gets to play the innocent victim with her children, just in case we didn't find out about her little schemes. Then, after you're gone, she'll be targeting the rest of the night shift. Gil Grissom and Nick Stokes were on the top of the list after you, your child going into her care."

Maggie looked to Greg, panicked, not believing what she was hearing. "Is this true?" she then demanded from him as he tried lurking back into the night shadows, not liking what was happening. "Ursula was my friend. She couldn't have done this. She and I shared everything. She helped with everything else, helped me with Michael and dealing with Eric. No, she _can't_ do it! She wouldn't!"

"No, it's all true," Greg replied, gulping as his hair waved in the light, cool breeze. "Ursula Kearns had been in contact with these people for two years now, planning this out with them. She befriended you because they asked her to. It wasn't her plan, though."

"What do you mean, they asked her to?" Maggie shook her head.

Grissom came up behind Maggie, trying to take the heat off of Greg. "Maggie," he said gently, seeing the C.S.I.'s eyes turn to him, "Ursula Kearns is Quentin and Hannah Tanner's younger sister, the youngest of the four siblings, the last sibling dead and with children in their grandparents' care. She, on the other hand, luckily married and had her children before she met you and did not change her last name because she knew that you were coming back to Las Vegas someday."

"What do you mean?" The C.S.I.'s mind spun, denial still there and swimming. She could not believe that Ursula was capable of crime, much less that their suspects were her _siblings._

"The evidence is in," Catherine simply replied. "On Ecklie's orders, we haven't been able to tell you anything until now. We kept you in the dark and told you to do some things to keep you occupied and having a sense of control. We told you the truth at every turn. I even sent Nick to bother you once in a while." Then, seeing the shocked and betrayed look at her co-worker's face, Catherine reassured her, "We also did it to keep your head elsewhere while we worked. It was not Nick's fault. He just did what he was told."

"So, here's how it happened, as confirmed by the computer, the evidence and a little research," Sara added. "Karen Napolitano married our suspect, Quentin Tanner, in late 2005, after barely a month's engagement. He knew about her troubles, seeing as how he was a stage manager in old Harry Pitt's shows, and only wanted to help her, out of the love he said he had for her and her late husband. Quentin then contacted his sisters, Hannah in Las Vegas and Ursula in New York City, to see if they would help him. However, it was only a month or so after his marriage to the former Mrs. Napolitano, Ursula found herself fired by Detective Mac Taylor, who found out that she was tampering with evidence on a case she was working on with no clear motive in sight. Luckily, she didn't face any charges, with the lack of evidence, and was only released from her C.S.I. job, only to be phoned by her brother about an 'injustice' done in late 2004."

"Hannah was pleased to help her brother in all things, seeing as how she used to date Jason Napolitano after high school, but Ursula was reluctant," Nick continued as he came around the car to join everybody. "She had recently lost her twin daughters in a custody battle which included her ex-husband saying that she was abusive to them and generally a danger to children, of which was true, to some extent. So, in exchange for getting her daughters back, Ursula was asked to go to Connecticut, seeing as how she was hours away, befriend you and somehow, get you back to Las Vegas. Already, her brother had managed to get her a job in Hartford and worked it out so that she was on the same shift as you."

"He pulled some strings, all right," Catherine said. "For a motel owner, Quentin Tanner had some connections not only in the show business, but also in the Mafia, which helped Ursula get her job in Hartford. After the two of you became friends, time because an enemy until Grissom here called you and told you about Warrick, two years after working with you in Hartford and watching your child when she could." Breathing deeply, as if to dispel the event from only the month before, Catherine sighed with some relief. "There is no evidence saying that the Tanners were connected with that death, but what is certain is that it was an opportunity for them to act. When you decided to move back here, Grissom thought it was a good idea to bring you back, but a better idea to keep Ursula closer to Ecklie's team because he could keep a closer eye on her, seeing as how Detective Taylor sent a note about her."

"What's more is that events seemed to come too quickly," Greg chimed in, feeling braver than before. "Quentin Tanner wanted to sit and wait for the right moment while Hannah wanted your head on a silver platter sooner. We don't know what Ursula was thinking, but she went through with the plan anyway. She was told to tell people about her new relationship – when it was really just her brother posing as somebody she was interested in – and just stayed the night alone in a motel room to cover up her misdeeds. Then, after a while, Hannah demanded the plan to go into action, seeing as how Ursula and Karen Tanner were having a relationship in that same motel room every so often. She wanted her younger sister to play the kidnapped and not play around with another woman, especially someone who was supposed to be her sister-in-law."

"She was bisexual, so I'm not surprised –" Maggie began, not even thinking about the sordid love triangle Ursula was tangled in.

"Regardless, we're still not finished yet." Greg smiled as he interrupted her. "Now, Karen took herself out of the picture mostly, but took in strays to keep herself busy, which was where your ex-boyfriend came in. As Ursula was being 'kidnapped', he unexpectedly came into the picture, so he had to be eliminated quickly, especially when Brass asked him to look out and call him. Lynda had no idea what was going on, but they could not take chances, which is why she's in protective custody now. Anyhow, to make a long story shorter, Quentin Tanner knew that we were on his tail, so after he called in the kidnapping to Grissom, he changed his name, threw in the club owner's name and lousy evidence and a story about him, substituting him for Karen in everything he said, and ran quickly. He knew that Eric was released from Headquarters, so when he spotted him spying at the motel, he had Ursula pull the trigger and throw him into the fire he set. Afterward, he took Karen and her children to Hannah's house and hid them and Ursula there. We found Karen Tanner and her family after you left Hannah's house, but could not find Ursula anywhere."

"This explains why you know a lot more than what the evidence told you," Maggie plainly replied.

Grissom beamed with some pride. "Karen Tanner confessed everything when presented with what we had: stains on the motel sheets, Ursula's hair on the bed, her hair on the window, the bullets from Eric's body, the accompanying murder weapon found on the scene, D.N.A., fingerprints from everybody, the recorded call from the White Sands Motel and even the recorded call from Hannah Tanner's home. Before leaving with his sisters, Quentin managed the call again, to tell me about exchanging you for Ursula. We were lucky to have both recorded and stripped to reveal his voice and Ursula's in the background of the second call: 'Let's get out of here,' she said."

Suddenly cold in the Las Vegas heat, Maggie closed her eyes. "I still can't believe it out of her," she finally said after a few moments of silence, opening her eyes to the group. "However, if this is what the evidence has said, then it must be true. There's no other way."

Brass, the quietest, smiled, tapping his watch to remind everybody of the time. "Maggie, it's almost one. We have to escort you over the bridge."

"Who is coming with me?" she then asked, aware that time was running short and sighing about it.

"Nobody was asked to go with you, but we're sending Nick visibly and Catherine and Sara in the background," Grissom informed her.

"With Brass and his men tailing behind them just in case? Geez, I never knew people could think of back-up at a time like this!"

"Exactly the point here, so get moving before we lose them again," Ecklie reminded them.


	18. What Do You Miss?

"You still a little nervous?" Nick asked Maggie finally as they walked across the bridge together, close to being linked arm-in-arm as they drew closer to their destination. The two had not talked since the parking lot revelations were revealed, which made Nick worry that Maggie was going to do something drastic, just like the time before.

_And I can't afford to lose her again. Grissom went after her that time and almost lost his life had Maggie not shot first. She lost her job, her sense of direction and then me. She gained a loser boyfriend who abused her, a friend over here and now, a best friend who was used against her in a crime willingly, just so that she could have her children back. What more can she take?_

_Damn. I guess it's my turn now. But, at least I'm here with her and not Grissom. He took care of her, in a way, but I think she needs me. Ok, Nick, it's a little selfish and stupid, but I think Maggie still needs me. I think she still loves me, no matter what._

"Me? Nervous? Nah. I'm just tired of being in trouble all the time and bringing danger to everybody I know. You know what I mean." Maggie put her hand on the white railing, dragging it along with her as she walked, interrupting Nick's erratic thoughts. Her fingers caught, several times, on the tears and splits in the white-washed wood, but none sliced her skin.

"You know, sarcasm does not quite fit with your personality still."

"At this point, I don't quite care anymore. My life seems forfeit, anyhow, and I don't want anybody to get into any trouble on my account. Why show my true color when all people are going to do is smear them?"

"Ok, then. What _else_ are you thinking about?"

Maggie stopped mid-step, startled by the question. "You know me too well."

"Your face is sometimes like an open book. At those times, I can read it. Other times, you like to hide and keep it closed. In this case, I see that you miss something."

"My son mostly," Maggie admitted as Nick stopped to face her. "I miss my parents a lot, and sometimes Eddie and Grace. Chris is all right now, he forgave me and we talked it over. And I love his new wife." She paused. "Well…I guess I miss how things _used_ to be, like when we – I mean, the last time I was here. In Vegas. Before all of this came apart." She shrugged her shoulders.

Nick cupped her chin with his large hand. "What else do you miss?"

"Do you really wanna know?"

"Sure, why not? I know everything else about you. Why not know what else you miss?"

"You," came her whisper, which didn't quite surprise Nick, who felt the same way.

"Then why did you leave me like that?" Nick let go her Maggie's chin. "You just packed up with Michael on your back and left me. I'm glad you left a note and I'm glad you called when you were far out of my reach. But, I didn't quite understand. We had problems. We had a _lot_ of problems. I didn't know you were taking it seriously."

"Taking what seriously? Our sudden break-up after yelling at me about the landlord wanting to kick you out and then you wanting me back after I left you?" Maggie crossed her arms. "No, Nick. I admit that it was a bad mistake. It was probably one of my worst ones yet. We broke up after arguing about the baby, money, our relationship and everything else. I guess we were ready, but not quite ready, to be in a complete relationship. And we both miss it."

"As you've pointed out to me many times before, it seems like you want to be back together."

"And I do."

"So do I, believe it or not."

"But, Nick, are we ready for this again? Can we get through our problems and _be_ a couple?"

"I don't know. I'm not quite ready to tell you everything yet. And being a couple is sharing and communicating, which we aren't good about."

"We can try again." Maggie looked into Nick's eyes and uncrossed her arms, letting her stubborn nature flow away, admitting the truth. "I was told you were kidnapped as well, Pancho. You and Warrick battled out who was getting a case, as always, and you got it and you were taken hostage and buried alive. Everybody watched you through a video feed, even your parents. Catherine's father put up random money, but that was blown up, Grissom almost with it and one of the suspects. You were in there for so long that people thought you were going to commit suicide with the gun given to you."

"Who told you all this?" Nick was aghast, incredulous that Maggie knew some of the story and things he could not tell her.

"I heard it here and there, whispers in the lab and some tidbits from Catherine," Maggie rushed out, holding onto Nick as he tried turning away. "Nick, don't be hard on her. She didn't tell me much. She just confirmed what I heard and said it got the team back together. Grissom asked Ecklie for his usual night team back and got it, even though Warrick and Catherine were on another shift."

Nick could only shake his own head.

"Can you tell me anything else?" Maggie whispered, wanting more, but somehow wishing she didn't say that to him.

Nick pushed her away as a reply, almost walking in the opposite direction and leaving her. In the end, though, he remembered his assignment and only left his back to her.

"See? See, Nick? This is what I've been feeling ever since we started arguing the first time around." Maggie crossed her arms again. "You turned your back against me. You thought I was a nagging, stressed-out mother, which I was probably was because of everything going on. But it doesn't mean you turn away from the people you love the most. And I know I am deeply in love with you still, Nick. I just wish you would open up to me again. I miss it. And I really missed you more."

Still, there was silence.

"Nick, please talk to me. I didn't mean to learn about something you were quite ready to tell me yet. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry about everything, especially leaving you. But, what I'm never going to be sorry about is falling in love with you, because I can't stop it, even when I was with Eric. I still loved you then and I love you now."

After a moment, Nick turned back to her, his arms crossed as well. "You mean it, Maggie?"

"Of course I do." Maggie walked over to Nick and put her arms around him, grateful that he returned the favor lovingly. "Now, stop giving me a pouty attitude and come with me. We need to see what's going on, to see if everything is true and the evidence speaks it."

"I don't pout. You know that."

"You do so, Nick. And it looks good to see you act out again."

"I don't 'act out'. Catherine calls it 'emotional' and I think she's right."

"You call it what you want, but we still need to –"

"Hey, are you two lovebirds done arguing yet?" Brass had walked up behind them, carrying a flashlight. "You're supposed to be over the bridge and meeting up with the Tanners. Can't your little talk wait a while?"

"I guess so…" Maggie looked to Nick. "What do you think?"

Nick kissed her on the forehead, separating himself from Maggie before anybody else saw them. "Brass is right. We need to get over the bridge."

"Just say it to her, Nick. I know you want to." Merriment shone in the Detective's eyes.

"What? Do we need witnesses or something?"

"I think he's overheard everything," Maggie interjected.

"Hey, you're not a part of this conversation," Brass laughed.

"But, I'm also here and you can deal with it or get punched for talking over my head like that. Besides, our relationship is none of anybody's business."

"If you're working together, it can be, according to Ecklie."

"Ok, ok, I get it." Nick laughed as well as he grabbed Maggie and put her back into his arms. "Come back to me, Maggie?"

"I think we'll talk about it later, after the case," Maggie replied stiffly, becoming nervous, as if invisible eyes – other than Brass – were watching her.

"Just get on with it," Brass growled, waving the couple ahead, motioning for them to separate. "We're all waiting for you to get there. And I think Quentin Tanner doesn't like people being late."

"Sure," Nick said, letting go of Maggie once more. "Let's go."

As Brass watched the two separate and then continue to walk across the bridge, he noticed that, as the two reached the island's shores and walked to the meeting point, Nick took Maggie's hand and gripped it tightly, his gun perched noticeably on his belt.

* * *

**I know that a lot of things went on in the last two chapters. Just to let you know, because I posted two chapters today, make sure you read the previous one, about the new evidence in the case. Some people do miss it in the email alerts! So, you can ooh and ahh all you want, because this chapter is a nice romantic one. Oh, and you can review too...please?**


	19. One Less Informant

After walking on the island's woods for a minute, Maggie took her spare hand (the left) and found her flashlight attached in her belt ring, turning it on with one hand. She then twirled it around, making shadows on the spinals and twists of the trees without showing Sara and Catherine in the show of light. Her other hand remained firmly in Nick's grip, unable to let go, unwilling to see him hurt again.

"You still pretty talented with doing that, huh? Aren't you?" Nick teased her finally.

"Huh? About what? What _are_ you talking about?"

"Making those shadows. It's kinda pretty."

"Uh-huh. Now, do you know where we need to meet the Tanners and do the whole exchange thing or are we lost and need Brass?"

"We have to be over there, behind those trees, down in the center." Nick pointed down the path where a group of trees stood, entwined to make a circle of arms and legs. "We do the exchange and off we go. Then, we do the whole 'capture the criminals' thing and we get to the fun parts: interrogation and seeing them off to a cell."

"And what am I supposed to do in order for this to be a success and making sure that nobody is getting hurt or killed in the process?" Maggie asked in a whisper as they neared.

"Just follow it by ear and do as you're told until Brass apprehends them. Sara and Catherine are behind us and Brass and his men are around this island and surrounding them as we speak. We're pretty much safe from all harm, if it makes you feel better."

"Not really, but it's bothering me still. You sound too confident."

"Just be careful, Maggie. You'll be ok. Everybody will be."

"I hope so…"

After Maggie expressed her distantly-worded optimism, silence was kept between the two as they walked to their destination. Without Sara or Catherine within visible sight, Nick and Maggie continued down the pathway until they reached the ring of trees, seeing at least ten people around inside the circle, three of them being the Tanners. As she turned off the flashlight in a fit of caution, Maggie's eyes trained her to see her friend immediately and she could not look away except to check out the situation. Ursula was tied with her hands behind her back while Hannah Tanner held a gun to her head. Quentin Tanner also held a gun, as well as his men around, but he was more interested in looking for Maggie, muttering curses under his breath about her being "late".

As Nick led Maggie to where they were supposed to be – before they could be spotted – one of Quentin Tanner's men came to him, causing them to get out of sight for the moment. Also armed, the tall, burly and balding man saluted Quentin Tanner in a way and coughed, as if something was wrong and he could do nothing about it except tell the person in charge.

"Sir, the men here have found two of them female C.S.I.'s in the woods, looking out for their own, we think," the man reported to Quentin as Nick and Maggie hid behind one of the trees, spying before entering. "The Las Vegas police are here, too, by the load. They've surrounded the island, but we still have our escape route. Brass hasn't found that way out yet."

"God job, Brian," Quentin replied. "Now, all we have to do is wait for Maggie O'Keefe and whoever is with her. I'm pretty sure Gil Grissom wouldn't leave her alone."

"Quentin, please –" Ursula began as a plea.

Hannah hit her sister across the head with her spare hand. "Shut up, Ursula. It's your fault we had to leave Karen and her little brats and they got caught by Detective Brass. They found out everything. Now, we can only hope we can have Maggie O'Keefe here."

"Nick Stokes will be nice, too," Quentin added with a smile. "I'm pretty sure he came too. I saw him in the car with everybody when they parked an hour ago."

Maggie and Nick exchanged glances with each other as the siblings talked. _Should we really go out there?_ They both thought it about it. None of them voiced it and none of them gave an answer. However, sooner or later, they would have to somehow rescue Catherine and Sara and perhaps Ursula and leave as Brass catches up with them.

"Boss, what do you want us to do with the little spies?" another man, who was next to Brian, asked Quentin.

"Tie them up tightly against a tree, for all I care. That might keep them still." The criminal waved his hand with indifference. "After we get everybody together, we can kill them along with O'Keefe."

"Brass won't let her come alone, you know," Ursula, recovering from the last blow, said to her brother. "She'll be well-guarded and not just have a security buddy. Grissom, Brass and even Ecklie will make sure of that."

"Which is why we have more men manning the waters, Sister," Quentin replied.

"Yes, but when she comes and realizes that this is a trap, you'll be sorry, Quentin. I told you from the beginning that this plan wasn't going to work. I only went along with it because I want my children back and Hannah wanted to get it rolling. So, don't tell me about traps and getting away with it, because you won't. We'll all just end up in jail."

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" Hannah yelled, hitting her sister in the head again and kicking her in the side as soon as she was on the ground. The younger hostage only grunted and consented to the order as Hannah shouted out some incomprehensible words, but she knew in her heart that it was the end: the end of the line for her and her friends.

Suddenly, after Hannah took care of Ursula and calmed down, she glanced in Maggie and Nick's direction, seeing the shadows as everybody wondered out loud where they were. "Over there," she ordered calmly to the men. "They're over there. Come on, you two, come on and join the party. We've been waiting for you for quite some time now."

"Party time," Nick muttered sarcastically as he and Maggie surrendered to the Tanners. As expected, though, the two were roughly grabbed as soon as they came to the Tanners and were tied by ropes to avoid them from using their hands and feet.

"Hey, I thought this was an exchange, Mr. Moren," Maggie joked as Quentin's men put her and Nick against a tree – Maggie on one side, Nick on the other – and tied them to it. Next to them, Sara and Catherine appeared, their captors doing the same to them so that they could not escape.

"Well, Ms. O'Keefe, I thought this would be better if I had everything my way." Quentin smiled, not even correcting her on the name given at the White Sands Motel. "You see, you're not the only person who is getting killed tonight. When I get my hands on my wife, she'll be dead too."

"So, there's more to killing us C.S.I.'s?" Maggie tried buying time as she was tied tightly, her body stiff from the abuse and her worry for her co-workers mounting.

"When I get to the others, they'll be gone too. Ecklie, Grissom, Sanders and everybody else are on the list. Nobody is being spared this time, O'Keefe. I'll sink the Las Vegas Crime Lab to its knees before somebody notices anything. And before they know it, crime will come back to Las Vegas and _nobody _will come back to the city again. It'll be ours!"

"So, beginning with me, you'll have your revenge for Jason Napolitano and then the ways we solved the case and apprehended him? You _want_ this city to be full of crime?"

"Why not? My wife deserved more, to be exalted with the money we will receive for this one deed, as many wanted the Crime Lab gone. However, even now, she can't reap the rewards of seeing her husband's killer dead. I will. I was his _friend_, O'Keefe. I was Jason's best friend. I knew him since high school. You wouldn't know me, since I went to a different school. But we knew each other well. We kept each other company on Alloy Street and went into show business together. And I can't forget that…or his killer, pictures seen in the newspaper. I can't even forget his face when I saw him at the funeral home, _dead_ as his wife and children wept." Quentin raised his gun. "It'll give me more pleasure to kill you than anything else. The others are a bonus."

"What will we do now, Quentin?" Hannah then asked him as he finished his speech, a predator's grin lighting up her face, anticipation for the next duties warming her up inside. "You're in charge of us here. What will we do now?"

Quentin turned to his sister, men and hostages. "Get the C.S.I.'s to the boat on the planned road and take them out. Carry them down and make sure they don't escape. Brass won't find them after we're finished with them."

As Hannah and the men turned to do their work (Sara and Catherine, quiet, already on their way out and gone before Maggie could know anything), Quentin stopped them, saying that he had an idea for his sister. With only Ursula, Maggie and Nick left for them to take to the boat, he motioned Hannah to come to him. Whispering something in her ear, Maggie saw the smile on her face grow broader and body relax with the next task.

"You understand what to do now?" Quentin asked her as he finished.

"Totally," Hannah replied, walking over to Ursula. Picking her up and dragging her over from the ground to Maggie and Nick as a gun was held to her sister's head, she added, "Say your last words, Sister. Say them to her before I change my mind and shoot you."

Ursula obeyed Hannah, only lifting her head up to look Maggie in the face. "I'm so sorry, Maggs, really I am" she said quietly. "It was not my fault. I only do what I'm told to do or else I'm in deep trouble with my family, as you can see here. I guess you just made everything complicated for me by helping me truly love you as a sister. You were –"

A gunshot silenced Ursula suddenly, a red hole in her head.

"Dump her body in the water," Quentin only ordered quietly, as if he were actually mourning his dead sister. "The others will join her shortly. Good job, Hannah. That's another informant dead and another one to go."


	20. Find a Way Out!

Grissom, Ecklie and Greg, in the meantime, waited in the parking lot of the park, listening to the reports through the walkie talkies from the various sources around the island. However, when Brass reported that a group of men had caught up with Catherine and Sara and had captured them and tied them, Grissom almost jumped with fright, thinking that their plan had been discovered. The next minute, he also heard that Nick and Maggie were at the meeting spot and were also captured and tied. Afterward, Brass and his men saw them moved, but they could not see where.

"Ursula Kearns is also missing, Grissom," Brass said. "We need to see where they took the rest of them, but I think she's been left behind with her siblings or is hiding someplace. The other four have been taken down a pathway, but we can't see where."

"Follow them when you can, Jim," Grissom replied urgently. "Or, have one of your men follow them. Can you see where it leads?"

"No, but we can try to catch up with them. It's a pretty tight squeeze, if I must say so. Brass over and out."

"And you call them back-up, Gil? Come on, you know that they'll get out of it alive, if they think quickly enough." Ecklie sounded smug, as if he knew it all, hearing the conversations as each C.S.I. was reported ensnared by the criminals. "They do, after all, have C.S.I. O'Keefe in there and she's pretty handy with a gun, if you remember correctly."

"It doesn't mean that she'll lead them out alone, Ecklie," Grissom replied coolly, calmed as he handed Greg his walkie talkie to handle while he took care of his superior. "She's smart as a whip, but without the others, she's almost as lost as they are. It's more of a matter of teamwork and if they can pull it off, the way they are now."

"But, with Nick Stokes in there, there's a greater risk that all of them will be lost. There are more factors that you are also ignoring."

"Since when have you been interested in my team, Ecklie? Nick Stokes and Maggie O'Keefe are, as far as I have figured, good friends right now and have supported each other throughout this investigation. If you think otherwise, it might be a possibility, but it's a far-fetched one, something these people might put into consideration if it's true in any way. As for Sara and Catherine, they pose no real threat, but are more of hostage material, not dead bodies."

"Well, with Sara Sidle romantically connected to you – as the lab has been rumoring for years, might I add – these people might have a reason to kill her because of _your_ position. And Catherine Willows might be equally be a target because of her investigative skills, seeing as how she put many people behind bars."

Grissom ignored the jab about Sara and almost agreed with Ecklie's assessment about Catherine. "You may be right, Assistant Director, but we have nothing to indicate one way or the other. Greg, have you heard anything from Brass or his men yet?"

Greg jumped at the mention of his name, the walkie talkie almost dropped. "Nothing yet, Grissom, but some of the men have mentioned landing on the island and getting to the meeting place and finding no path yet."

"Let's just hope Brass finds them soon then," Ecklie added, "because –"

"Gil, we've found the path!" Brass' voice crackled over the walkie talkie. "It's under a trap door in the clearing. The men have followed it and it ended on the other side of the island, where a boat dock is."

"Have you found anything else?" Ecklie asked, taking the machine out of from Greg's hands.

"Ursula Kearns' body and nothing more," Brass reported with a tone of regret in his voice. "We've preserved the scene and are getting more men to go down the pathway, avoiding the body. We'll find them soon, I promise you, Assistant Director."

"We can only hope," Grissom mentioned, knowing how much Brass was kissing ass to Ecklie and how much he hated reporting to Ecklie instead of him.

~00~

"Maggie, you haven't talked for an hour now. What are you thinking, other than getting out of here? You're usually the one with the genius plans and the brilliant schemes. You tell us what to do and we'll work as a team to get out of here." Sara grunted, as if she were punched in the stomach, and continued to move her hands against the ropes, but without much success. The rocking of the boat did not help her cause, either, but hindered it more.

Being carried in an underground path did not help things as well. With Nick whimpering, Sara and Catherine scheming about escape and Maggie closing her mind to the case, their ride to the small room on a boat was no nice walk in the park, quite literally.

"Sara, I don't think your comments are helping," Nick only replied, struggling along with his co-workers to work off the shock – and the ropes – that tied them together. "I think that, if we all thought of something together, then we'll get out of this situation together."

"I just can't believe it," Catherine pondered.

"I can't either," Nick added. "So, we're on a boat. There are two men here with us outside, up the ladder, and more men outside searching for Brass and everybody else in the park. I just hope that they don't meet the same ending Ursula did. I'm sure we're next on the list."

"You know, I can't think with you all talking morbidly like that," Maggie finally said with frustration, her mind still racing, the grief felt for her friend still there, as if Ursula's betrayal had been nothing more than a friend's argument over a trivial matter. She still couldn't believe what had conspired under her nose – what she could not figure out in the time the two had been friends – and could not still comprehend it fully. It was not denial, for sure, but _incredulity_ over the whole case entirely.

"Ah, so the genius of our time finally speaks!" Sara exclaimed with sarcastic glee. "So, tell us, Maggie: how _are_ we getting out of here before the reinforcements come?"

"I don't know yet. I can't think –"

"Neither can I, if it makes you feel any better," Catherine interrupted. "I haven't been able to reach anything in my pockets. They took away our guns, but they didn't take away the tools. However, with the way they tied the ropes, I think they did themselves a great favor and kept us stationery."

"No, but gee, thanks for the encouragement, Catherine." Maggie shook her black and white head of hair, trying to think about what to do. "I would have thought you had some plan by now."

"Not yet, but I'm working on it too."

"Hey, you idiots, shut up down there. The Boss said that one word of escape out of any of you, you'll all be shot in the head and dumped in the water for the Detective to find. And he'll be doing the honors, so it'll be _long_ and _painful_."

"Ahh, the joys of being a captive again," Nick said nervously, his joke obviously spoken to keep the tension down. "Hey, big guy, wanna come down here and tell that to our faces?"

"Jesus, Nick, are you trying to get us into trouble or what?" Maggie hissed. "I don't feel like getting killed right now, you know!"

"Wait, wait…" Catherine cautioned quietly, motioning her strawberry blonde head upward. "Four of us, tied behind the back with our hands bound and our feet free after being dropped off here. Think about it!"

"Oh, the possibilities are endless." Sara's next sarcastic comment went past the head of the guard (but had groans from the others), who climbed down the ladder of the boat to face the four stiff C.S.I.'s.

"What the hell did I tell you to do, asshole?" the guard asked Nick as he stood before the C.S.I., the gun aimed at Nick's head. "Didn't I tell you the shut up?"

"Oh, forget about it, Earl," the other guard from above called out, a faraway voice that was possibly on the other side of the boat. "That one isn't worth it. Besides, the Boss said to be nice to that one. He's the one who's gonna be gone last."

"Aww, did you have to tell them who was getting killed last? Come on, man, you know better than that –"

"So do we," Catherine interrupted as she managed to get up and swing a leg under the guard in front of Nick. Stumbling as he went down, Earl the guard tried to grab Nick to choke him, but failed when Catherine walked over and put one of her feet on his throat, her hands suddenly free, the ropes dropping to the floor in a heap.

"Wow, how did you do that?" Sara asked, a sneaky suspicion in her mind.

"Trade secret," Catherine replied, rubbing her wrists and then picking up Earl's gun, her foot still on his throat, choking him lightly. Then, to the guard, she added, "Listen up, _Bubba_, tell your buddy up there, if he asks anything, that we're fine and nothing will happen to you…yet. Try something and I have your gun. Understand?"

Earl nodded.

"Ok, Earl. Now, I want you to get up and untie everybody here. Remember, I have your gun and I will shoot to kill you and your buddy if you try to get help."

Again, Earl nodded and got up as Catherine took her foot off of his throat. Then, wordlessly, he obeyed the C.S.I., untying Sara, Maggie and Nick. Scowling as he helped Nick up, he sat down where he used to be, as Catherine motioned with the gun, and allowed Sara to use the ropes against him. On a second thought, as she thought about the second guard, Sara also gagged Earl, taking out an old sock out of her from earlier, knowing that her dirty laundry from the locker room was finally being put into some good use.

"That was great, Catherine," Nick said quietly as they were all free. "But, what now?"

"Wait, I think," Maggie suggested.

"I agree," Sara added. "There is only this idiot and the other on the boat. The others are all out searching for Brass. We're pretty much alone."

"Hey, Earl, it's quiet down there. Everything ok?" The other guard walked towards the ladder. "Are those C.S.I.'s being pains in the ass again?"

"Showtime," Catherine whispered, realizing their predicament quickly and then pointing out positions around the small room on the boat that they were confined it. "Take your places now and on my signal…"


	21. Confidence and Triumph

**Sorry for the late update, everybody. Things have been pretty crazy here again and the semester, like I probably said before, has started up again. I might not post as often as I want to, but I'll try as hard as I can. Thank you!**

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Brass and his men had finally reached the end of the line: the boat dock where the Tanners were going to leave their prisoners until death. On the other hand, capturing Quentin and Hannah Tanner and their men had been easy – _too_ easy, he thought, as they met them on the way – and the only problem remained in finding his co-workers, his stomach clenching especially after seeing Ursula Kearns dead at the meeting spot. Then, tying his sick feelings in a knot, he paid more attention to the underground pathway, which had led him and his men to a pier. At the end, there were numerous boats tied up, all of them ready to bring the group to shore and out of the park. How many Quentin and Hannah Tanner employed for this one purpose, Brass could not imagine.

The two questions on Brass' mind, as Grissom, Greg Sanders and Ecklie cleared the last scene, was: _Where were they? And had they survived?_

"Sir, the C.S.I.'s proceeded the last scene and are about to leave soon," one of the officers, who came up to Brass, said as the Detective studied the boats with anxiety. "The female body has been removed already."

"Good, good," Brass replied, trying to keep his nervousness – the nagging fear in the back of his mind that, this time, his teammates were hurt and/or dead – down and out of his voice entirely. Succeeding to some degree, he added as he motioned to the boats tied up, "Has anybody swept this area or seen anything?"

"No, Sir, but we can get a few men to do it."

"That won't be necessary, Sergeant. Just tell Grissom to get down here when he's done with the crime scene. I'm sure that the Medical Examiner is here already and calling out his preliminary findings."

"As well as some reporters and a few more of our men, Detective."

Brass swore under his breath. "Ecklie can handle the reporters. Just get Grissom over here. We can find the rest of the team."

"Yes, Sir…" The Sergeant hesitated, just for a moment in seeing his boss look so uncertain and lost, but thought the better of it. So, he left.

~00~

"What is it you need me for, Jim?" Grissom asked as he met up with Brass at the pier. "It seems like you can't find the rest of the team without –"

"Yeah, yeah, Gil, I know what you mean and it's not that. I just need the back-up." Brass smirked. "Besides, this is _your _team, might I add."

"Catherine can –" Grissom began.

"We don't _know_ that, Gil. We don't know where they are or who is holding them right now. Any one of them can find their ways out, but we can assume that, remember? Catherine can get out of anything, as can the others, but do we know that?"

"Naturally, you are right," Grissom agreed, nodding. "However, I would have thought that, by now, we would have seen one or all of them flagging us down."

"Again, we can't assume that."

"I'm aware. Shall we get going?"

Still bickering about whether Sara, Catherine, Maggie and Nick escaped their captors and were hiding as they walked to the dock, Grissom and Brass stood at the end, looking up and around the boats, deducting where the team could have gone. After safely assuming that the four could not be on the single-riding boats or the row boats, the twosome looked to the only one that had a large deck and a lower one as well. It was situated on the far end and anchored off in the middle of the park's lake, set far apart from the others. Both thought the worst when they saw it.

"Do you think we've found them yet?" Brass asked as he and Grissom spotted it at the same time.

"I don't think you want to swim to find out," Grissom said as a sort of reply.

"We could borrow one of the rowers instead of swimming, you know."

"Yes, and carry all of them? Those are too small for a group of people, Jim."

Brass sighed in frustration. "Sometimes, I wonder why I bring you places."

"I wonder the same thing, Jim. Shall we wait a few minutes and see if one of them comes to us before we go to them?"

The Detective shook his head. "If they do, then fine, Grissom. If they don't, I'll be tempted to swim the way. And I wouldn't mind doing it in this damned heat."

"And possibly drown because of fatigue and exhaustion?"

Brass was tempted to pull his hair out because of Grissom's obvious observations (indeed, the Detective was tired and fatigued from all that running around, but he didn't think that the heat was helping either), but decided against it. He was frustrated enough with the case and had spent hours at it: babysitting, lying in some way or leading Maggie in another direction. He barely had any sleep and was bothered by the heat.

"Furthermore," Grissom continued as he searched the boat from their spot and smiled as he heard a couple of splashes and saw a few shadows coming towards them in the lightly clouded moonlight, "I think we wouldn't have to wait long for somebody anyhow."

"Did I just see what you just saw?" Brass then asked as he followed the C.S.I.'s gaze, seeing two people jump overboard and quickly swim towards them.

"I think that's Maggie and Nick now," Grissom said, walking calmly and kneeling at the end of the dock. Then, holding out his hands, one wet hand below grabbed and was pulled up in a dramatic show of water. Another hand was held up frantically and Grissom grabbed it before the other could slip, the both of them safe again. Brass was only amazed that the C.S.I. was correct again and the two lovebirds were once again before them…alive.

"What took you so damned long?" Maggie sputtered as she crawled towards Brass weakly, coughing up water. "We were out there for over an hour and waited for as long as we could. Then, we had to swim. We had no choice anymore. We couldn't wait for you or for some squad to come over and get us."

Nick, also coughing, tried not to laugh, but failed. "Why…didn't you…wait? We had everything under control."

"Ok, who did it and what's going on?" Brass asked, slightly amused, but missing their panicked and nervous looks and motions.

"Catherine started it," Maggie replied, calmer as she talked. "There were two guards. One came down when Nick called for him and, well, it went from there. They're both under Catherine and Sara's supervision for the time being, until they also jump. They have a few minutes and they all have to jump ship too."

"So, why did you two decide to swim to shore after all?" Brass then asked. He suddenly knew that something was up and that was why the two ran for it, quite literally.

"There's an explosion onboard, which is why we got out first," Nick added, panicking a little as he got up and not hiding it. Helping Maggie up as well when she recovered, he tried getting everybody away from the boats and to the island's safety before debris flew. "Catherine and Sara insisted that we go first. They'll be behind us soon."

"The two guards of ours were supposed to defuse it with Catherine and Sara, but I don't think they're doing a good job of it," Maggie said, looking back to the boat as the foursome walked to the island. Then, hearing two splashes, she sighed with relief as the two women quickly swam to shore and climbed up to the dock, two men behind them.

_Apparently, Catherine had both of them under control. They behaved after all, even if they couldn't get rid of that bomb that was supposed to kill us._

"I thought you'd never come back," Nick joked as Catherine and Sara came to the group, silence reigning until they all came.

"I thought you'd never listen to me," Catherine replied.

When Grissom raised an eyebrow and became curious, Sara explained as she wrung out her dark head of hair, "That couple was determined to stay with us, no matter what. Catherine persuaded them to swim for it before the bomb went off."

"Hey, what about –?" Earl began.

"Remember our deal, honey buns?" Catherine interrupted, elbowing the man in the ribs as the other guard cringed and almost backed away. "You tell the police about your involvement and the D.A. could cut you a deal and reduce your jail time."

"I take it that their hands weren't too bloodied this time?" Brass asked, looking at the two men, oddly behaving themselves for the C.S.I.'s.

"No, but they needed some persuading of their own," Catherine replied calmly, smiling a grin that only Grissom and Sara could decipher: one of triumph and confidence.


	22. A Time for Confessions

Hannah Tanner sat quietly in the interrogation room with her hands folded, as if she was praying. Next to her was her lawyer to the left and then Quentin on the right: represented by the best that money could buy, which could not help her and her brother. However, lawyer Janis Lauder sat between the two, sorting through papers in her briefcase as they waited for Brass to come in and ask his questions. She was the only one talking and was stoutly telling the police that the Tanners were innocent and were framed.

Maggie and Nick watched from the outside, the others having opted to take the rest of the night off to write reports in their respective offices (Grissom and Sara locked up in the former's office, rumors already in the lab about them) save for Greg, who was staying in the lab, discussing the case with Wendy and Hodges. Ecklie, masterfully taking care of the reporters, had retired for the night after dealing with the media for some hours, stating that he wanted everybody's reports on his desk later on in the morning.

"Why does he have to pull the whip on us this time?" Maggie wondered out loud as Brass entered the interrogation room.

"Who, Ecklie? I don't know. All I know is that he's isn't getting his report from me on time." Nick smiled mischievously, as if he had something else up his sleeve, but then nudged Maggie in the side with his elbow. "Hey, it's starting. Let's see what's up."

"So, Ms. Lauder, I can see you're representing your clients' rights," Brass began coolly as he sat down, facing the trio. "Now, let me set down the story for you, just in case you and/or your clients have some obscene objections and denials to it."

"Ouch," Maggie said when hearing Brass' introduction.

"Detective, if I may, my clients have done no wrong and were under distress, as they were pushed into this scheme," Lauder began as she put her paperwork in order, neatly stacked away. "They were forced into this by Earl and Calvin Tanner, their cousins and the so-called 'guards' to your co-workers."

"Oh, really now?" Brass raised an eyebrow. "Tell me this then, Ms. Lauder. Why did Lynda Gloucester point to your clients as the masterminds behind this so-called 'kidnapping' of former C.S.I. Ursula Kearns that would have killed not only Margaret O'Keefe, but also most of the crime lab of Las Vegas, including Gil Grissom? They were also planning to exterminated the whole Police Force as well."

"A prostitute and the low life of society," Lauder dismissed with a wave of her hand. "She might be playing with you, like she does with everybody else. This is Vegas, if you remember right, Detective. Most prostitutes need the money."

"This one didn't," Brass pointed out. "Since most of this ring has been arrested – those at the Sunset Park, which was everybody, might I add – she has been living comfortably with Karen Tanner and her children, who all have been released from protective custody. Before that, she was living on the streets, but also trying to save money for school."

"Another lame excuse, Detective." Lauder crossed her arms. "You have no evidence against the Tanners, so release them. You've got nothing on them."

"I've got more than confessions from a prostitute and a wife…soon to be ex-wife, Quentin, so expect another lawyer soon." Brass smiled. "There is D.N.A. evidence connecting not only Ursula Kearns – née Tanner – to the murder of Eric Jacobson, but also solid evidence from tape recording around Hannah Tanner's underground tunnel around her home. We have evidence from the White Sands Motel that all of the siblings were there, phone call recordings…we have everything, Ms. Lauder, and if your clients still don't wanna talk, the D.A. isn't going to be kind enough to cut them a deal, like he did with their cousins."

"You're bluffing!" Hannah exclaimed, banging the metal table with her hands' fists. "Calvin and Earl have yet to say anything. You're bluffing, Detective, and I can see it."

"Shut up," Lauder told Hannah. To Brass, she added, "Ignore her."

"Since this session is being recorded, I don't see any reason to ignore her," Brass replied, smiling still. "We also couldn't ignore the explosion in the middle of the lake at the Sunset Park. It's been diffused, of course, but how could such a large quantity of explosives gotten aboard on boat like that?"

Both Tanners were quiet, so Lauder answered for them. "Again, Detective, we'll go over this again. Their cousins were behind the whole thing. Why can't you just accept that and question them again? Seems like the D.A. won't cut them a deal when these two are the ones who need it…if they did anything at all!"

"It was Ursula's idea to get the explosives," Quentin finally talked. When Lauder tried to get him to shut up, he said, "No, I'll say it. We all _hate_ Maggie O'Keefe for what she did. I was a friend of Jason Napolitano, Detective. I was his stage manager, for God's sake! And when I heard that he was killed by that…that _monster_…I could not stand by and let her get away with it. I loved Karen and wanted to take care of her, so I married her. Well, I forced her, since she needed help with the kids, and I planned it all after that."

"So we've figured," Brass replied in a bored voice.

"If Ursula had not become close friends with her, we would have had a better chance to succeed," Hannah added. "She became chicken after we put the plan into action. She didn't quite like the idea of a kidnapping, since it was copying Jason's plans from way back when, but she went along with it when we told her that we'd get her kids back to her. Her husband…_Kearns_, what a name that was…accused her of being abusive. I mean, how can you call somebody abusive when they spank their children? I would have done the same, had I the chance, but our _other_ sibling hid her children well and her husband's parents would not tell us where they were. I'm only glad those two are dead now."

"So, this is just a repeat of what I've heard?" Maggie asked, just as bored as Brass.

"Brass just needed admission of guilt from them, since the cousins confessed their deeds," Nick confirmed, moving closer to Maggie and holding her by the waist, standing behind her, smelling her hair (_It's just as I remembered it!_). "We traced the explosives and they came up with a dead end, so we think it's from Quentin Tanner's Mafia connections. However, I don't see any of them coming to his defense."

"Probably pissed off," Maggie replied, enjoying every moment of it.

"Who knows? We're getting nothing from the Mafia, so you're possibly right."

"But we can't assume, like Grissom has always told us."

"We can safely assume, though, that the Tanners are getting prison time…for a _long_ time, I'd say. I don't think they would bother you for a while."

"I sure hope so, Nick…"

"You sound sad."

"You've noticed." Maggie turned around as her sarcastic comment seemed to have punches her partner's stomach, pushing Nick's arms away from her waist as she spoke. "I lost somebody who I thought was a friend and, Jesus Christ, her funeral is next week and her sister-in-law, who is oddly the executor of her will, is coming to see me. Yeah, I just got the call because Ecklie called the next of kin, which was her, and I got some number from Montana from somebody named Claudia Kearns, who is taking care of her children too. Oh, and did I mentioned that I'm back here, with nothing to gain or lose, nowhere to go and living with my brother…again? I miss my son. I haven't seen him in days really and –"

Nick put his right pointing finger on her lips and silenced her. "Shh. You have many things still. You have Michael and Chris and his bunch. You might have Eddie and Grace and whatever bunch that they have. You have everybody at the lab here, as always."

"But do I have _you_?" Maggie dared to ask, her heart beating faster.

Nick responded by shoving her gently to a dark corner of the observation room and spontaneously kissing her on the lips. He was very surprised when she kissed back just as passionately and then he deepened it, feeling that she accepted that too. Then, when he dared to release Maggie from it seconds later (before anybody saw them, especially the people in the interrogation room), he wrapped his arms around her again and asked, "Do you think so now?"

"If you say so," Maggie replied, sounding happier than she had in days.

"If _you_ say so," Nick assured her.

"We're both consenting, Nick –"

"Then come back to me. Move back in with me. We can find a bigger place for Michael."

"We need to talk. This is going too fast for me," Maggie confessed weakly.

Nick looked at her hard, but then softened the gaze. "I understand," he replied slowly. "We do need to talk about a lot of things before we could do anything else."

"Confession time?" Maggie joked as tears fell down her face…_happy_ tears, she knew…and an image of long ago – from when they first were together – came true. When she thought that she would never go back to Nick Stokes again, she was wrong in many ways. Denying her feelings was wrong too, in a sense, but it also led her to where they were now.

"Later," Nick replied, letting her go. "Come on. I think we need to finish those reports before Ecklie puts _us_ down on as lazy on our records."

"As if he hasn't done that before," Maggie smiled as she exited the room with Nick, taking his hand as they walked into the hallway together.


	23. What Does Your Heart Tell You?

**Again, sorry for the lack of updates lately! Other than writer's block, school has started up again and things have been super crazy without a car for a couple of weeks. Things are all fixed and I'm trying my hardest to update everything. So, here's the next chapter. Please review!**

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Later that morning, Maggie was still working on her report for Ecklie. The sun had already risen, another hot day in Vegas on the way, and it was almost eleven o'clock. Ecklie had allowed her until her next shift to finish up and already, the night's events – only hours before, she noticed with weariness – had exhausted her. Only the reassuring love Nick seemed to still have for her was still and it cheered her up slightly.

_But, what can I do with it? We can't work together and be dating. Look where it got us last time! Dammit, what can I do? I love my job, but now, it's starting to fall apart again. I can't go back to library work, like my mother did when she needed something to do or we needed money. It bores me now. I need something new, something that will keep me on my toes and also keep me from expecting something that was unexpected. Michael's been doing that for me sometimes, but I don't spend too much time with him because of this damned career and working all the time._

_Oh, people were right. I love being a C.S.I., but I used it to solve too many puzzles, things I wanted to personally solve, like my parents' murder. However, it also helped to catch Jason Napolitano…and then it had him killed…and then the career went totally downhill and came back up when I moved back here. Most people had forgotten about the shooting a few years back unless they squint and ask. And usually, I have to deny it. I don't want any attention._

_Jesus, I'm thirty-four years old now. I have a child from my parents' murderer, the love of somebody I thought I'd never see again, the admiration of my brother, nephew and new sister-in-law and a friend who is now dead and was playing with me all along, but loved me to death like the friends we were. Dammit…Ursula's funeral is next week and her sister-in-law is meeting up with me tomorrow, when she flies in from Montana. Why does she want to meet up with me anyway?_

As Maggie worked in her office – Ursula's belongings still there, as if she was still alive and coming in for her shift – Ecklie had come to the door. Watching her work like that, with so much on her mind, almost made him pity her…_almost_ being the key word. Grissom had more faith in her than he did and always asked for her back, even after she left Vas Vegas. However, Ecklie wouldn't listen to the supervisor and stood his ground, citing several reasons until Grissom wore him down with the request. So, after it was heard about the lab that Maggie O'Keefe had come back to town, Ecklie allowed Grissom to extend an invitation to work at the crime lab again…and one for Ursula Kearns also, who everybody had been looking at since she was fired in New York.

Ecklie, politely enough, knocked on the door after watching Maggie for a few minutes more. "There's somebody who wants to see you," he only said as Maggie looked up when noticing his shadow out of the corner of her eye. Then, stepping aside and disappearing into the crowds in the hallways, a small figure ran into the office with obvious glee.

"Mommy!" Michael yelled as he ran to Maggie and jumped into her lap as she rolled her chair back.

Grabbing her child before he fell off of her lap, Maggie hugged Michael tightly, smelling his hair and feeling a sense of calm descend upon her, despite another shadow coming into the sunny office. Maggie paid no attention to the other person, but was soon laughing without feeling it, without really knowing why, her sole attention on her son.

This_ is my life._ _I can't exchange anything else for this._

"Ahem," the other person almost yelled as mother and son bonded, startling the pair in the chair. "I think we need to talk, Maggie, before you get sucked into your child."

Maggie looked up, seeing her brother Eddie staring at her, studying her, as if she was some animal in the zoo and not his younger sister. "What do you want, Eddie? I thought that you were done with me. I thought you and Grace did not want to see my face anymore."

"What is that all for? What, I can't come visit you in your office and bring your son with me? Besides which, Maggie, you have a penchant for leaving our family in protective custody. Chris, Rachael and Robbie were not the only ones who were watched all the damned time."

"And this is my fault _why_?" Maggie snapped as she picked up Michael and set him on the floor, taking a large rubber ball out of her desk drawer for him to play with. Then, getting up and closing the door, she stared back at her brother. "This is just another case of revenge. It was not Ursula's fault that she was caught up in this. Christ, I don't know what else went on in his life, Eddie, but I thought that she was my friend. I thought she was truly a friend."

"And she could still be, if you remember it that way instead of how she died," Eddie insisted.

"Since when are you on _my_ side and giving me advice? Last time I saw you and your wife, majority ruled and I was kicked out of the house. It took me _ages_ to get my furniture out of the house and still try not to fight with everybody. Hell, and we used to get _along_, Eddie. You took care of me when you saw me and kept me protected."

"Yeah, and I thought that we were safe until Mom and Dad were murdered by that freak."

"Be careful of what you say in front of my son, Eddie, unless you want to start paying your hospital bills and another year of therapy for him."

"Wow, aren't we feisty as always? Geez, who taught you self-defense?" Eddie laughed. "Come on, Maggie, I'm here to apologize. It's just my strange way to tell you that. I wanted to see you, too…to see how you were doing. I missed you. Grace, well, she doesn't really, but she can deal with it if I say so."

"I take it she doesn't have much to keep herself busy with?" Maggie asked, crossing her arms stubbornly, still wanting to hear those two words instead of explanations and stories that took them off the subject.

"No kids yet, so I'm thinking about adapting or something."

"I bet she doesn't like that."

"Neither does her mother!" Eddie blurted out. "She wants her own children, carried for nine months and popped out the traditional way. I keep thinking that we're at the age when we're done with kids biologically, but Grace doesn't like to give up so easily. She isn't a stickler for other ways to getting kids."

"So I've figured." Maggie was quiet for a moment. "But, aren't you –?"

"Going to say that I'm sorry? Sure, I'll say it. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I feel really bad that I kicked out you. It was quiet without you. No adventure or danger or anything."

"Haha, very funny."

"No, not quite funny, Maggie, but serious. I know what happened. I know what went on from Point A to Point B to Point C as soon as you left Las Vegas a few years back. Don't deny it either. People talk, you know."

"Care to enlighten me as to who is sending you these bulletins about me?"

"No, I'm not, just in case you decide to run off again. However, all I'm going to say is that you should stay here. I don't know about your career choice still, but I'm pretty sure that you'll find something new to explore. I don't think crime investigating is your thing anymore."

Maggie was about to deny it, but kept her mouth shut. She knew that it was true and that her career – back at the top of her game once more – was going downhill again. She was bored and needed something new to do.

"Furthermore," Eddie continued, "I think you should reevaluate everything. I mean, you're still hanging around Nick, which I think is a good thing because you both kissed and made up. If you two work out everything, then you'll have a happier relationship."

"Are you suggesting that I get back together with him?"

"I'm not a relationship therapist, but I can still see that you two still have an attraction to each other."

"Oh, _please_, Eddie, get a life!"

"Mommy, are you coming home?" Michael then asked. He had long ago stopped playing with the ball and was listening to the conversation above his head.

"Today, yes," Maggie reassured her son. Then, turning back to Eddie, she said, "I don't know, Eddie. I really don't. I want to and I don't want to. There are pros and cons to this."

"Well, what does your heart tell you?" Eddie asked her, the noise outside the office suddenly becoming louder.

Without hesitating, as if she knew from the start, Maggie replied, "I want to be with him. I want to be with Nick."

"Can't this wait until later?" Brass asked as he suddenly opened the door noisily without preamble. "We have a serious problem here."

"What now?" Maggie asked frantically, going over to her son and picking him up and setting him upright, ball still in his hands, still listening to the adults above his head.

"Tanner has escaped," Brass replied, out of breath.

"Which one escaped?"

"Quentin escaped. He was being transferred out of here when he overpowered the guards and made his getaway. It was all planned. He's nowhere to be found right now."

"Dammit!" Eddie then swore under his breath, aware of what had happened beforehand.

"What should we do now?" Maggie asked frantically.

"Keep on your guard," Brass answered. "We've already posted that he's a person of interest and wanted for arrest…again. The states of California, Montana and New Mexico are also looking for his ass and want to have him prosecuted as soon as we catch him…or somebody else does."

"Great, just great," Maggie replied quietly, sighing as she put her hands on her son's shoulder to steady him. "Next thing I know, we'll next hear about him murdering another innocent person because he or she was close to Jason Napolitano."

"My Daddy?" Michael asked out of the blue, tugging on his dirty mother's shirt, aware that she had not changed and showered in a day.

"Your father, but not your 'Daddy' in any sense," Maggie only said to him, thinking.


	24. The Other Side of the Coin

**Arg, again I'm SO sorry for the lack of updates lately. Other than school, I have a new job and things are crazier than ever before. Please message me with more details if you want them. But, I hope I am forgiven for this faux pas! Please tell me I am. Reviews?**

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Showered, changed and finished with her report from the night before (the deadline long overdue and Ecklie yelling at her about it), Maggie met up with Claudia Kearns – Ursula's former sister-in-law and one of the guardians of her young twins – down at the Strip. They both agreed to meet there during their last phone call, undercover almost, to talk about the funeral quietly (without media detection), but to be heard over the noise from anywhere on the Strip was almost impossible, hence their decision.

Meeting at the Hard Rock Café as planned, Maggie passed the eighty-four foot guitar statue and looked for a woman with paperwork. Claudia Kearns had also mentioned over the phone that she would be doing that while eating, but did not mention what she looked like or if she was bringing Ursula's twin children or not. Maggie assumed that she wasn't, since paperwork would not really be done if two children barely out of toddlerhood would be running around.

In her field gear in order to be recognized (and her shift just a few hours away, a few tortuous hours before she had to deal with her co-workers and be bored), Maggie searched table after table, even asked a waiter if he had seen or heard of somebody named Claudia Kearns and if she had the twins with her or not. After a few minutes of trying to jog his memory (_Being a C.S.I. is always a plus!_), he remembered somebody like that (without children with her) and pointed to the other side of the serving area. There, a woman sat there, snacking on French fries and sipping on some soda and writing furiously next to a stack of papers.

Maggie smiled and walked over, sitting down across from the woman. Then, clearing her throat, she managed to reach out her hand, in an attempt to shake the latter's, saying, "Maggie O'Keefe. I presume you're Claudia Kearns."

The woman looked up, startled and nervous. Her dark doe eyes shone, her red hair frizzing in every place as she stopped writing, taking Maggie's hand gently, coldly. "Yes, yes, I am. It's nice to meet you and finally meet the person behind the newspapers and the negative media reports."

"Excuse me? What do you mean?" Maggie almost dropped her hand abruptly, but managed to let go of the shake cordially enough.

"I've heard about you a few years back, in 2003 or so, even afterward," Claudia simply replied, pushing her new-written paperwork aside. "I heard about your parents' murders originally, when I was in middle school, and wasn't too surprised when I heard, years later, that you helped to bring the killer to justice, via a more…_sinister_ method, I should say. I admire you, Maggie O'Keefe. You're a brave woman to have taken up a lot to sacrifice emotion and personal feelings to bring a killer to his final judgment."

The C.S.I. almost squirmed in her seat with the unusual remarks, finally nervously waving away the waiter when asked for food, and tried sitting still, listening to Claudia continue nonetheless.

"Ms. O'Keefe, I'm just amazed that you and I are talking right now and that I'm telling you this now. I only regret that my former sister-in-law was up to her knees in trouble again and got you and your co-workers working on a case to nowhere almost…except discovering another case of revenge and total destruction, so I've heard from your Assistant Director." Claudia paused. "I understand that you were also kidnapped by the best friend of Quentin Tanner. When hearing that Ursula had supposedly been abducted by the same man, didn't you feel like this was just another senseless scare, another road that led to another crime full of evidence?"

Maggie was speechless.

"What? Nobody asked you these questions, I take it?" Claudia took another sip of her soda, shivering in the air conditioning above her head. "Nobody took your side half the time, played the 'Oh, I pity you!' card, like Nick Stokes or Gil Grissom? Well, you should know that there are people out there who were against you being called dangerous by everybody…a menace to society…because there are more people out there, worse than you."

"Like your former sister-in-law?" Maggie finally found her tongue and when she did, she didn't feel her words sounded so welcoming and friendly, but snappish and dragon-like, acid dripping her words.

Claudia stared at her. "Ursula had enchanted my brother while the two were in college and she persuaded him to elope when they were both twenty-two. Years later, they have the twins and my brother found her abusing them, smothering them under pillows and then trying to drown them in the bathtub. Don't try telling me that she wasn't worse than you, Ms. O'Keefe, because she was. Ursula Tanner Kearns was nothing _but_ trouble as soon as she was brought home."

"She was actually nothing _but_ kindness unto me and everybody around her, even when talking about her daughters, until I learned of her deceit," Maggie replied bitterly, "but until the end, she was always faithful to me and even said how sorry she was. I'm very sorry, Ms. Kearns, but I see nothing of the 'enchantress' in Ursula. She helped me through some tough times and even kept me from killing myself when I gave up myself. I have severe depression and –"

"Does it matter now? I don't need you to explain _anything_ to me because I know it all. Now, back to Ursula. This woman made me in charge of her property somehow, as if she had anything left, and I agreed to meet up with you to discuss the funeral because you were her only _true_ friend that was led by her lies."

"But –"

"Don't interrupt me again, Ms. O'Keefe, because I have little time. Now, her funeral is to be in Montana so that we can all see her gone…so Las Vegas can skip another C.S.I. funeral and the media cannot have another story and bother Mr. Ecklie. All I was told, in the will that was recovered from her safe box, was that I was to give you this."

Claudia turned next to her and dug her hands into something, a purse most likely. Then, satisfied that she had what she wanted, Claudia looked back to Maggie and gave her an old cassette tape labeled, "Just in Case: Maggie O'Keefe".

"We don't know when the tape arrived in the safe box, but from what the bank told us, Ursula had been sneaking in and out of Montana and most likely seeing her daughters, which would clarify some things," Claudia explained. "Now, I probably should leave you. You have a tape to listen to and I have a plane to catch later. Ursula's body is coming back with me in the morning, so I need to go to that medical examiner of yours to get it ready for the ride."

"Sure…" Maggie looked over the tape carefully – dust wiped clean from it – and was about to say something back to Claudia, but she was gone, paperwork and all. All that remained was an almost-empty tray of French fries and an empty glass of soda, the coldness gone from it.

~00~

_So, I'm sitting here in my office – mine for the time being, since Ursula and her things are now gone, as if she had never been here – and thinking once more. I have no cases tonight, no paperwork to catch up on, no Ecklie and Grissom to talk to me. Las Vegas is as quiet as the countryside, an occasional police car whizzing by. Nobody has bothered me, nobody has come by to express their condolences to me. I think everybody knows, after knowing me for some time now, that I like to be left alone in my grief, especially Nick. I saw him in the lobby earlier, but he only greeted me and ran off someplace, saying something about Quentin Tanner being caught again and in maximum security._

_I've never been a huge writer, scribbling here and there, but tonight, I need some company in the form of empty paper, endless ink. I need something that I could write down, as if I was relieving my mind of something, and throw into the fireplace back at my parents' old place. I need some closure – as if I had enough, as if I haven't found all the pieces to the puzzle yet – and need to burn the rest of it to ash. From ashes to ashes, dust to dust, they said. I need to start anew once more._

_Breathe in and out…in and out…there, I think I feel a little better. Not by much, though, and this is bothering me more that I am still alive and bored with what I have: an endless abyss of nothing but work and staying with one or both of my brothers. No, it's not my parents' murder, because I've been over that for a while now, although I will miss them from time to time and somehow wish they were here…although Mom will correct my parenting skills every step of the way and it'll annoy me endlessly…but that every step I take, people will see me as the killer of Jason Napolitano and the person who helped to put his friends in jail. Granted, Karen and her children were innocent of all matters, but this cost me my ex-boyfriend (scum that he is), a good friend and my trust of the world._

_For, yes, who and what can Maggie O'Keefe trust anymore? Who next will take advantage of her, her kindness and her plights?_

_Worse yet is this tape. Ursula taped herself about a year ago, telling everything about the case we solved – everything we know now – and all I could do is give it to Ecklie, Grissom and Brass when it was finished, telling them to put it in the evidence box and put away. It'll be used against her siblings when their trial comes, when their time of judgment comes, as Claudia would have said, I think. Ursula would have wanted it to happen. I know that of her._

_At the end, I heard her apology. Ursula said how sorry she was, saying that I had changed her as time rolled. Really? I changed her from criminal to human being? How could I have changed a criminal, a person who pushed her way into my life on purpose? How could I have made her help me against Eric, get her to support me when I needed it at all times? How could I have made her giggle with me, telling me to go back to Nick, the first of many to tell me so?_

_No, I am angry. I am angry at her. But, it'll take time to heal. It'll take time to realize how much she still means to me, still is in my mind. Warrick was the first and the next in line was Ursula. It'll end. And hopefully, this will be the last of the Las Vegas saw of C.S.I. deaths._

_Rest in peace, Ursula. I hope you find it more there than here._


	25. Settle Down Then!

_I met her in a club down in old Soho__  
__Where you drink champagne  
And it tastes just like__Coca-Cola__  
__C-O-L-A, cola__  
__She walked up to me and she asked me to dance__  
__I asked her name  
And in a dark brown voice she said, "Lola"__  
__L-O-L-A, Lola, lo-lo-lo-lo Lola_

_Well I'm not the world's most physical guy__  
__But when she squeezed me tight  
She nearly broke my spine__  
__Oh my, Lola, lo-lo-lo-lo Lola__  
__Well, I'm not dumb but I can't understand__  
__Why she walked like a woman and talked like a man__  
__Oh my, Lola, lo-lo-lo-lo…Lola, lo-lo-lo-lo, Lola_

_Well we drank champagne and danced all night__  
__Under electric candlelight__  
__She picked me up and sat me on her knee__  
__And said, "Little boy, won't you come home with me__?"__  
__Well I'm not the world's most passionate guy__  
__But when I looked in her eyes  
Well, I almost fell for my Lola__  
__Lo-lo-lo-lo, Lola…lo-lo-lo-lo, Lola__  
__Lola lo-lo-lo-lo…Lola, lo-lo-lo-lo, Lola_

_I pushed her away__  
__I walked to the door__  
__I fell to the floor__  
__I got down on my knees__  
__Well, I looked at her and she at me_

_Well that's the way that I want it to stay__  
__And I'll always want it to be that way for my Lola__  
__Lo-lo-lo-lo, Lola__  
__Girls will be boys and boys will be girls__  
__It's a mixed-up, muddled up  
Shook-up world except for Lola__  
__Lo-lo-lo-lo, Lola_

_Well, I'd left home just a week before__  
__And I'd never, ever kissed a woman before__  
__But Lola smiled and took me by the hand__  
__And said, "Little boy, I'm gonna make you a man__!"_

_Well I'm not the world's most masculine man__  
__But I know what_ _I am and I'm glad I'm a man__  
__And so is Lola, lo-lo-lo-lo, Lola_

Maggie giggled with a childish abandon, twirling as Nick danced with her, their night off at the bar almost uninterrupted and their jobs put on hold for the time being. The air conditioning that kept the hot, late July air out – a month of heat and humidity that kept Vegas a frying pan of tempers – unfrizzed their hair, keeping them relaxed. Empty beverage glasses behind them, the two kept pace with each song, Nick insisting that they dance to the last one when Maggie claimed she was tired.

"So, why is a song about a man that became a woman and falling in love with another man something we need to dance to?" she finally asked Nick when the song was over, being escorted to their table at long last.

"Because this place plays better music and it's music that we both grew up with and love. Plus, it's much more fun."

"I think I would have rather dealt with songs about us." Maggie laughed and sat down, laughing harder when Nick stumbled into his, narrowly missing his chair.

"Oh, like what?" Nick had sat down finally, laughing too at his drunken charades.

"Like that song we danced to way back when, when we first started seeing each other again," Maggie replied, shaking her head at how long ago it seemed, how only a couple of months had passed since she had arrived back in Las Vegas.

Maggie didn't hear Nick's response – the next song had come on – but could only think. _Ursula had seemed like a true friend to me then. Eric was alive then, my boyfriend and not even humbled by his interrogation by Brass. Nick and I are barely getting along with each other, but slowly realizing many things. Warrick had just died. Grissom didn't seem to faraway, didn't seem like he wasn't going after Sara all the damned time. Jesus Christ…_

"Hello, Maggie? Are you in there? Earth to Maggie!" Nick waved his hand in Maggie's face, giggling when she pulled out of her nostalgia and laughed with him again.

"What?" She shook her head again, the thinking gone, her mind barely clearly up.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Do you want to know?"

"Sure, enlighten me. You seem to be talkative lately. I've gotten a lot out of you in the few months you've been back to Vegas."

Maggie sighed, long and frustrated. "Just pondering upon about the changes from back in early May to now. Michael's birthday is around the corner and here I am, daydreaming about these past few months and thinking…"

"Thinking what again?" Nick asked.

"That I want another dance after all," Maggie replied gaily, smiling and getting up, dragging Nick along with her, listening to his light protests.

_Say your prayers, Little One__  
__Don't forget, my son__  
__To include everyone__  
__I tuck you in__  
__Walk within__  
__Keep you free from sin__  
__'til the sandman…he comes_

_Sleep with one eye open__  
__Gripping your pillow tight_

_Exit light__, e__nter night__  
__Take my hand__  
__We're off to Never-Never Land_

_Something's wrong, shut the light__  
__Heavy thoughts tonight__  
__And they aren't of Snow White__  
__Dreams of war__, d__reams of liars__  
__Dreams of dragons fire__  
__And of things that will bite, yeah_

_Sleep with one eye open__  
__Gripping your pillow tight_

_Exit light__, e__nter night__  
__Take my hand__  
__We're off to Never-Never Land_

_Now I lay me down to sleep__  
__Pray the Lord my soul to keep__  
__If I die before I wake__  
__Pray the Lord my soul to take_

_Hush, little baby, don't say a word__  
__And never mind that noise you heard__  
__It's just the beasts under your bed__  
__In your closet and in your head_

_Exit light__, e__nter night__  
__Grain of sand_

_Exit light__, e__nter night__  
__Take my hand!__  
__We're off to Never-Never Land__  
__Yeah, ha, ha, ha_

"Since when do we dance to Metallica?" Nick asked, barely catching his breath, when they finally sat back down again, noticing that Maggie was tired as well.

"Since when do we kiss?" Maggie asked in return, leaning in for one and receiving a quick one on the lips from Nick.

"Grissom is going to catch us at it again, Maggie…"

"Does it look like I care right now, especially seeing as how he's chasing Sara and has been for years? No. I decided on something today. Something people have been saying to me lately, something I think I should do. Then, there's another decision I need to make."

"Do you want to tell me?" Nick's eyes flashed at her, worried.

"Not yet, but I think you'll hear it in the office tomorrow, I think…maybe…"

"Is it good news?"

"I'm moving out of my brother's place finally. I found a new place on Spring Mountain Road, new house, yard and everything. Three bedrooms, low price and I got it. Even Michael even loves it. He saw it the other day with me and demanded that we move in before his birthday next week. He wants a party out in the yard, but I don't think he understands anything about Las Vegas and heat."

Nick laughed.

"July is not a great time to move because of the heat, but I need to get out of that house," Maggie continued, shuddering either from the cold air conditioning or from the thought of ghosts in the house her parents died in. "I can't continue going to my parents' place and living with Chris. Eddie and Grace have moved out and are sort of happy together, albeit they have no children and it's a sore spot for my sister-in-law. But I have the chance to move out. Chris and Rachael are doing it in the autumn because they think the same and Rob likes to be closer to school. So, I might as well get out while I can or buy the house. But, since I don't and hate the constant remodeling it needs, I won't. I'll get what I can out of it and run."

A sympathetic hand reached over and touched hers. "I'll help if I can."

"I might have it, thank you, Nick." Maggie tried pulling her hand away – covered in betrayal, hurt and mistrust and wishing not to run down that road again – but Nick held on tighter.

"Think I'm going to give up this time?" Nick asked her. "You always look like you want to give it up, Maggie, but you find ways to stay always. Why not find a way to stay again? Give it a chance and not move again? You've done enough of that. Why can't you settle down?"

"Because I don't think I can," Maggie whispered back, her voice barely heard over the music. She suddenly truly frightened for the first time that night. "I don't think I can ever settle down permanently."

"Don't you think you should try then?" Nick urged.

"If there was somebody out there to help me, somebody out there who can stay with me, then maybe I could stay in one place," Maggie replied slowly, putting out her offer indirectly – an offer that Nick could have taken from her – but soon, she was disappointed when he said nothing in return, but ordered more drinks for the both of them. She knew that Nick realized what she was giving him, but he had declined to even answer.

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**Sorry for the filler chapter (a Nick/Maggie chapter, just for Mma63!), but things have been pretty hectic here lately. I've posted whatever I can on my profile, so if you want an update, please check it out there because I am not typing everything twice. However, the story is ending soon, a few more chapters, and it'll have a happy ending, I promise. =) Please review. I need them!**


	26. I Came For Life

**I know I haven't been updating this story in some months now. I don't know what people know, and I don't feel like explaining it here, so I hope you all understand that I had a good reason not to write lately, and it hasn't been writer's block either. I just hope that all is forgiven and that reader interest in this story is still there. After all, the story is almost done and I'm trying to wind it down soon enough because the case is basically over, the issues are almost buried and a happy ending is in sight. So, please review!**

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The next night, her head clearing up from the drinking with Nick, Maggie found herself back in the office, typing another report for Ecklie, her hangover still threatening to tell her to call out for the night. However, she was also still disappointed with the previous night's conversation – and even the silence that ensued after her subtle offer to Nick – and she tried harder on concentrating on her work, but could not. She thought: the fun, the games, the laughter: was it all a dream? Was it all some sort of surreal adventure, an illusion of her mind once more, something that she thought that she could reach for and could not possibly hold? Could it be possible that coming back to Las Vegas had been a mistake after all?

_A lot of things would not have happened if I came back. Ursula and Eric would still be alive. I would still have my lousy job and working my meager hours…Jesus, I should never have come back to Vegas. I wouldn't know what I know and people would still be alive._

_Alive…but, what is that to me? Everybody around me just dies or runs off. I just find myself grasping for what I cannot see, what I cannot comprehend, and then suddenly watching it set on me, just like the sun. And all of them – all of those that I need the most in my life – are always out of reach. First, it was my parents, Ursula, Eric, Nick, Eddie, Chris…_

_Nick…but, he isn't dead yet. Neither are my brothers. But then again…what does that matter now?_

_Is he, though? Nick? Is he dead in my mind, in my heart, in my soul? Or, can it never be possible? Memories can be erased forever, but can the heart manage even that?_

_I don't think that it can this time. I wouldn't be able to handle it._

"Knock, knock…can I come in?" A timid face, without the children around her, peered into Maggie's office. "The people at the desk said that I would find you here. And nobody else could figure out where you were, since you don't answer your cell phone and you aren't in the field with anybody, according to Grissom."

"What is it to you? What do you need from me?" Maggie's eyes barely left the screen, her hands still posed on the familiar, and yet foreign, words typed on her screen, lines of a case she could barely remember in her foggy mind, in another night that forbad her to jump the final hurdle towards freedom.

"Well, I'd thought we'd discuss our children and…well, you know…if they should meet each other. I mean, your son is four, I think, and…well, umm…Ms. O'Keefe, I thought that we would try to discuss Jason and –"

The name of her rapist – her parents' murderer from long ago – had her ears perked up, her hands silent and still, her head turned to the voice at the door.

It was Karen, Jason's widow and Quentin's wife…or soon to be ex-wife, if the rumors about it were correct. Brass seemed to be a gossipmonger, she found out once more.

_Dammit…I should have known. She would know where to find me._

"Well, can I come in? I don't mean to intrude on you when you're working on something." Karen's gentle blue eyes – those same eyes that Maggie had been trying to avoid for some years, eyes that she didn't want to see up-close – prodded into her office space, searching and asking for some answers. It was as if she were asking to enter into the world that Maggie had denied to her for so long.

"You might as well. Everybody seems to intrude upon this space without quite asking me." Maggie's sudden sharp tone cut into the other woman's heart and she saw it quickly, mending it just as the previous words did. "I'm sorry. Sit down here." She motioned the seat in front of her desk, watching as Karen obeyed her silently, as if her life depended upon it.

"Now," Maggie continued as Karen looked to her (composed in her seat as Maggie settled down to business), "you said something about our children meeting and having visitation, since they have the same father, are technically siblings, and should know each other. Correct?"

"Yes," Karen started, "but –"

"I apologize if I seem so rude, Karen…may I call you Karen? You may call me Maggie. I don't like formalities, unless they are necessary. And in this case, I don't think that they are."

She nodded at Maggie, letting her go on, the permission painted plainly on her face.

"Now, Karen, I know how painful this is. I understand that you knew the man, Jason, before I did possibly more than I. However, it was never my intention to be with him, or to have Michael when it happened. Hell, I don't regret having my child or having to raise him alone, but at the same time, to explain to him that he was a child of rape, and that same man killed his maternal grandparents years before he was born, seems a little too much for him. He already knows a lot more than he should, at an earlier age, and for him to know that he has siblings with the same man who was his father might either crush him or excite him. I don't know yet. I don't know if it's a good idea or not."

"Perhaps if you talked with him first…?"

"I will. Soon enough, I will talk with him about it. And it's an open possibility. However, Karen, right now, I don't think I can handle this and thinking about quitting my job and –"

"You are thinking about quitting your job?" Karen interrupted suddenly, the shock palpable on her face. "How will you support your child, especially now, in these hard economic times? How can you buy a home and then think about quitting at the top of your game, just when things are starting to look up for you? There are things outside of your sight, Maggie. You should think about it more warily than throwing it all away. Your life will be more miserable!"

Maggie stared at her blankly. Not only had the woman figured out most of the issues on her mind, but also, she had pointed out the obvious: at the prime of her life, how could she, Maggie, leave something she used to love so much?

"Because I don't think I can do a lot of things anymore," Maggie answered carefully, knowing about the gossip mill just outside of her open door. "I don't think that I can be with the one person that I love the most in my life, lose him again, and then force myself to forget."

"Then don't forget about him." Karen shook her head, already with grey hair. "Quit your job if you want to and find another in another career. Never be a C.S.I. ever again. Take your child from place to place so that _you_ yourself can never remember the harder times in your life. But, never…_ever_…take yourself away from the one person who has made you happy. You lost him once, twice maybe if you've tried to go back after him. I can already see that you keep running back and forth to him, abusing yourself and your mind because you think that, if you can get one last glimpse of him, you can make yourself feel better, forgetting what Jason had done to you and everything else afterward. But, you hunger for more of him. You can't live without him and you know it. In your heart, you know that the man you loved the most is the one man you can't afford to be running away from."

Maggie could only continue to stare at Karen, amazed at this woman who dealt with abuse with both of her husbands, coming out stronger in the end.

"Besides," Karen went on, regardless on anything else (the outside hallways not on her mind, but more on Maggie's), "I think it's the same way for him too. I talked with him, Nick Stokes. He doesn't like to open up to a lot of people and to tell what's on his mind, but the potential to do so is there. If you only communicated with each other, your relationship with him would have been stronger. And you still have that chance _now_. You gave it to him and him to you."

"If only it was given to me so freely and so easily!" Maggie exclaimed. "If only that chance was there and clearly in front of me, I would take it. But now, it just seems like it's not there, even if he said it came. We could always be together, and talk about the old times together, but it'll never be the same spark."

"Yes, it is, and you know it."

Maggie saw the determination and even the knowledge in Karen's eyes and knew. She knew that this other woman – this woman that had every reason to be jealous of her, every reason to hate her because she killed her husband, the father of her child as well – was right. There was no denying it anymore.

"Just talk with him…_please_," Karen pleaded, getting up from her seat. "Talk with Nick. He has more to say than you think he does. You both covered a lot of ground already, working on this case with Ursula fooling you and…knowing what was wrong already. The love is still there, Maggie. You can't deny it anymore. Too many people have also told you otherwise, too many people telling you to listen to your heart. Or, do you remember at all?"

Maggie nodded her head, vaguely recalling Eddie visiting her. It seemed ages ago.

"Then try it. You never know if you try it once more." Karen then dropped something on her desk with a single, tiring motion and smiled at her for one final time, walking out of her office door, becoming lost once more in the sea of employees that roamed the hallways. She had disappeared, as if she had never existed…as if she had never come into the office in the first place: the person heard of, never spoken about, and kept unknown because that was all she ever wished for her life.

Maggie saw what was dropped: a paper, something old and cautiously given to her. Karen had left her a small note, her home number on the top, another plea: to call her sometime soon. But the words that flowed almost informal and even carelessly on the wrinkled page – folded many times over in so many different ways, thought over numerous times, for sure – stood out in Maggie's mind.

_I forgive you anything and I give you everything. We share one man in destiny, but never held him for so long. I know that you meant nothing except justice and in seeking so brought too many troubles for you, but I can understand finally. For what is yours is mine, and what is mine if yours._

_As it has been said, "The thief only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."_

Reading it over and over again, Maggie knew what Karen meant immediately. Without thinking of anything else – not of her hangover, report of even of Ecklie – her thoughts slid elsewhere, a single tear riding down her face.


	27. Every Twist and Turn

The next morning (deciding to take on her shift after all and not call for another personal night, despite being hung over a little), Maggie went in search of Nick. She had not seen him all night around the hallways and was worried that he didn't come in for their nightly shift or was avoiding her completely (or Grissom could have had him on another case in another direction and had done it on purpose again). Either way, she knew that she needed to talk to him or walk away from everything forever: her home, her job and even her life once more.

And Maggie knew that she didn't want to give up most of those, but if she had to, she could do it again. And one of those she wasn't too regretful about leaving again, leaving a note to go to Ecklie on her office desk, to be sent to him later.

Exhausting all places of interest within the building, Maggie was about to give up and go home to her son and some sleep (hopefully). Shoulders hunched with defeat, she walked slowly to the locker room, intent on grabbing her things and going home. But, as soon as she grabbed her things out of her locker and went towards the exit, she saw Nick as his locker, also getting ready to go.

"Hey," Maggie said as she came to his locker, facing him as soon as he noticed her, closing his own door and smiling: a smile that Maggie remembered him having the first day the two had met.

"Oh, hey…"

Nick sounded almost let down to see her almost and it showed in his voice. Maggie heard it and almost walked away from that moment of disillusionment – that moment of disappointment and sadness – but decided to stay anyway. She wanted to be with him…_needed_ to be with him…and she had to tell him. The indirect offer was there – offered to him the day before even! – but now, she realized that she needed to tell him directly. She needed to be with him and knew that Nick was the one. Eric had been the person who made her realize that she was worth something more, worth something much more than what she thought she was, without knowing about it until coming back to the one place where she knew was her home.

Before leaving Las Vegas, Maggie saw that she had broken up a rocky relationship with Nick. They had argued about everything: the new baby that came from a rape, the unique events that surrounded their relationship, Jason Napolitano, living together so suddenly, knowing that they both nearly died a few times and even the smallest things that probably shouldn't have mattered. They never communicated with each other and left it to the other to make the first move, to make the first words stick before the other unstuck it with something else.

However, neither had made that first move.

Each had past problems that were never solved, never coming out in words, and yet, they kept coming up with emotion, body language and reason. They knew that something had to be done about it, but that matter would come up eventually and that confrontation was always put off for another day. They would work it out their own way and come to know about the consequences of being together again…and yet, they kept putting it off.

There had to be an equal reaction to each action. And finally, Maggie had realized that, after all of the reactions of her life – coming back to Las Vegas after being threatened, solving her parents' murder with the help of her friends, killing the murderer and having his child after being kidnapped, raped and left for dead and finally leaving, tolerating the horrible mental and physical torment of her next boyfriend and coming back to a deceased co-worker and a backstabbing friend – she found out that it was worth it. Every twist and turn in her life was worth it, despite the hardship and despair.

And all she had to do was change it, to make it better, with the hope that Nick would think the same thing.

"Listen, I know that –" Maggie began at long last.

"Things have been pushing us together again and again and again and we can't stop it," Nick finished in a neutral tone, turning his attention back to his locker and getting his things together to go home. He managed to get his backpack packed up and zippered up, but he didn't bring it out and leave.

"We seem to be good friends now," she pointed out, trying to get Nick to talk to her.

Nick slammed his locker shut: an angry motion that made Maggie flinch with fear. She sensed another argument coming on and hoped that nobody was nearby, especially Grissom. She didn't need to be reminded of what the two needed to do: be civil and work together cordially.

"And what do you want me to do about it?" Nick asked her. "It's good that we can work together and be friends again. We have to or Grissom and/or Catherine will notice something and separate us or one or both of us will lose our job. We seem to keep hitting it off perfectly, but there never seems to be a time in which we can make plans together. You seem to want to go off with your son into the sunset once more, buy a home, run off and settle down. And it's good for you. But, I had other plans. For _us_."

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean, Maggie? You don't know? You don't notice much, do you?"

"Know what?" Maggie showed genuine confusion. "Notice what?"

Nick sighed, frustrated, and opened his locker again. Taking something out and shutting it again, he thrust a small, velvet box into her surprised hands.

"I know it's not the best time to ask, nor is it the best way to ask you, but I wanted you to have it and I hope you accept my offer before you decide to run off from everyone again," Nick said softly, taking her into his arms gently, and then deciding to let her go so that she could open the box. "We don't need you to run away and never come back, especially me. I love you, Maggie, and I don't ever want to lose you ever again. Stay with me…_please_."

Maggie opened the box, expecting the worse (like she has with everything), but saw the best offer that she's seen so far, forgetting all that she had thought she'd decided to do.

And all she could do was jump into Nick's arms with a graceful acceptance.

~00~

The hot, Las Vegas sun bore down on Maggie later on in the day. She walked into the T.J. Maxx Department Store (her son safely taking an afternoon nap and Chris watching him), almost half-expecting – with little hope – to find something to wear for her wedding (whenever it was, if the two decided on a date for it), but instead, found Nick behind her as she walked down through the women's section of clothes. Nibbling in her neck as she tried to go through dresses in an aisle, she smiled and laughed. But, when she turned her head to face him, she saw baby clothes within her line of vision. Pulling it fully within sight, she missed what Nick was trying to say.

"I thought wedding dresses were supposed to be white," Nick commented, trying to get her attention again, seeing where Maggie was keeping her eyes on and sighing about it. He never saw that longing in her eyes before, but was ready to accept it.

"Huh?" Maggie shook her head and faced Nick. "Oh. Well, I thought that you were supposed to be leaving me alone so that I could find something."

"No white dresses are here, future Mrs. Nick Stokes."

"Wedding dresses don't need to be white. Don't be bias and stereotypical about them."

"I prefer that yours was. I would like to see you in a white dress and walking down an aisle, but maybe not in a church, like everybody likes it to be, but maybe someplace special outside of town. I always dreamed of that, even after you left. Then, I just forgot about it…until I decided that something needed to be done for _us_."

"And have it match my hair? I barely have any of the black left in there!" Maggie laughed harshly, knowing that her hair was going the exact was her father's had, about the time she was born even.

"What does that matter?" Nick nuzzled against her, ignoring the number of stares from the other shoppers. "What matters is that you accepted what I offered to you. You put something on the table and I took it. Then, I gave you something better than what you were going to give me."

"But can we make it work?"

"We almost did last time, but you ran off."

"I had a child to consider and my own sanity!"

"Your own sanity was never there to begin with," Nick pointed out as he made Maggie face him fully. "And your brothers even told me as much. Michael would have been taken care of, despite everything that everybody had said, even my parents. I know that they didn't approve of him and of us living together. But they know what the meaning of 'family' is and are willing to change their ways to whatever unique ones there are out there."

"So…you're really gonna help me?"

"You're willing to help me, aren't you? You started it, remember? You bumped into me in the hallway and scattered my paperwork that Ecklie needed. And we started something that we couldn't stop, not even Grissom or Catherine or even Warrick." He paused. "To open up your soul to me was the best thing that ever happened to me, but you never continued it. We knew each other so well, but never went through with the relationship. And I somehow think I know why. We were frightened, Maggie. We were frightened by what had happened and didn't even bring up whatever else was bothering us. And you're always one to run away from your own problems."

"Oh, so who's calling the kettle black now?"

"You…and me. We're both guilty."

"And to admit it is a start," Maggie pointed out, smiling.

"Yeah, and so is your want for another baby," Nick joked around.

"How do you figure?"

"You looking at the baby clothes with some desire in your eyes is enough, Maggie. I saw it. You want another baby."

"And what if I do?" She crossed her arms stubbornly.

"It matters to me," Nick replied. "You're planning on buying a house. That's fine. But, does it have the room for another child? Do we have the ability to manage another one? How will Michael feel? Will he even be taking my last name? Am I adapting him?"

"Well, you can ask him those questions. I don't know. I don't want to force him to do anything he doesn't want to do, like you adapting him." Maggie sighed, uncrossing her arms.

"You can't force a child to do anything like that, even if he's that young," Catherine said, coming up from behind Maggie suddenly. "It's also a big decision for something that young, Maggie."

Maggie turned around shocked, Nick casting Catherine a knowing smile.

"How do you –?" she started.

"Nick told me and Grissom," Catherine answered, smiling mischievously at Maggie's obvious naïve nature of the situations around her. "Don't worry. The secret is still with me. So is that resignation paperwork that Nick happened to find on your desk and tell me about."

Maggie stood there, agape still.

"You think I wouldn't find that?" Nick asked Maggie as he joined Catherine on her side of the aisle. "We all knew that you wanted to quit again. And that's fine. That must have been a recent decision for you. But, what was going to do in the meantime if I hadn't asked you to marry me?"

"I don't know," Maggie started weakly.

"Oh, Nick, let her think about it," Catherine said, taking the younger woman by the shoulders. "Let her think about the good things right now, like what she's going to be wearing to this elopement I hear you two are having."


	28. Epilogue: November, 2011

_You know, I always thought that happily-ever-after endings would never come to me. I never thought that they existed. Even as a child, I never really watched those Disney princess movies, choosing to remain in reality and remain on a pathway that had me escaping that institution that I was stuck in for many years. I couldn't think of possibly have a Prince Charming come riding on a white horse, rescuing me, when I could just do it myself…and I did. I took off just before my last year of high school and found myself back with my parents' home…only to find it empty of the two people that mattered in my life. They were gone._

_And so, I had to take care of myself. Nobody else could do it for me, not even Chris and Eddie, the same brothers that promised the same…and failed in those promises eventually._

_After moving out of Las Vegas for the first time, I traveled and worked in the C.S.I. departments of Miami, New York City, Hartford, Augusta and Charleston. And I was so good at what I did that I was considered to be one of the best in the field. I had made many friends and enemies apparently, dead and alive now, ignoring the dangers that I didn't realize that were there, and found out that even the best C.S.I. had to crack and fall to her lowest point: the one in her career._

_Then, I moved back to Las Vegas because I was threatened…felt it hot and fiery on my back and ran…and solved the murder of my parents' because I found no other way to satisfy my life, no other way to make that piece of the puzzle fit perfectly in my life again. I had an obsession that needed to be sated, one that needed to end._

_Eventually, it did. With the help of the Las Vegas crime lab, I did. And Jason Napolitano was killed by my own hands at a high school showdown and his widow and children devastated._

_But, as it is always quoted: "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few…or the one."_

_After I came back to this godforsaken city in May of 2008, to attend the funeral of a friend, I thought that nothing could go wrong any further and that, with my job back, life could go on normally and that Nick and I could be friends perhaps, co-workers civilly talking at a distance and meeting for drinks and silly dances occasionally. Hell, I had my boyfriend, best friend and child with me and I thought that _nothing_ could possibly go wrong ever again. Of course, I was proven wrong._

_Now, here I am, three years later: happily married to the man that I always thought to be with forever and with two children of my own, one of them his and the other adapted. I'm thirty-seven years old and already – despite feeling so old and worn out, especially chasing around two young children under the age of ten – feel as if I had lived a life fulfilled._

_Before we even skipped town and eloped, just as we planned from the start, Nick and I talked over many things, most of it the mistakes we had made beforehand. Our petty differences put aside, we knew that the past made us ready for this future: ready for children, ready for a place of our own and, most certainly, ready for _us._ This time – without the interference of Board meetings, quitting and being fired from jobs, lack of sleep and tempers, families pulling us this way and that and even the shadow of guilty, knowing that I killed the father of my first child – we know that our relationship was going to last. We put it all behind us, that stress that made us snap and hurl, and started anew._

_I admitted to being too addicted to my depression pills (using it as an excuse to stop myself from falling into insanity) and even Eric, knowing that abuse in many ways always meant the end of life as we knew it. Nick admitted to being traumatized by being buried alive all those years ago and even of his past problems, like being molested as a child by a last-minute babysitter. We realized that, in many ways, trauma defined us and made us who we are today, but it clashed horribly, in the worst way we could imagine, and while it ended us – that entity – the first time, a second time made us stronger._

_Counseling helped us along the way, friends most of all. Catherine, from experience, helped me form a closer bond with Nick. Nick turned to Grissom for help. Whatever assistance he received from the stoic night manager of the crime lab, I don't know. But, whatever it was, it helped. And it pushed us closer together._

_On Michael's birthday in July (celebrated with Chris and his family and with Eddie and Grace), we both announced to him that we were getting married. I didn't know what his reaction was going to be, so waited until then (a birthday gift indeed, we thought), surprised that the little boy had grown fond of Nick and was happy to hear that he was going to be his stepfather._

_Chris, Rachael, Rob, Eddie and Grace…well, it took them by surprise too, quite literally. Mouths opened, they all couldn't quite convey the words to say. Rob couldn't even sign to me what he felt, the shock was that felt. But, as the days passed, they all said their congratulations, knowing that I was stubborn enough to go through something like this and trusting me when I said that our problems were worked out, saying that this time, a promise was out there to break Nick if he did something stupid or divorced me. It was taken as a broad hint._

_One night in late September, Nick and I took two week off from work (me leaving Michael with Chris, one month to go before we gave the house over to the next owners) and left Las Vegas: just the two of us. Well, I had given my two week notice to Ecklie finally – so tired of the intrigue and puzzle that never seem to amuse me any longer – and taken the last two weeks off as vacation time as a final farewell to my undeclared enemy. Nick had taken his vacation time as well, but had to work extra hours because he was taking too many days off…so Ecklie said. Either way, we were free for a while._

_So, on October 3, 2008, in San Francisco, California (after a week of giggling and having a good old time), Nick and I picked up a Justice of the Peace late one night and married under the Golden Gate Bridge at Fort Point._

_One week later, we returned to Las Vegas and both moved out of our homes. Well, I had to help Nick move his things out, since he had extra time at the lab to make up for. In either case, we all moved out to another home – one I had picked out just for Michael and I previously – and settled in perfectly, knowing that this time, when life seemed too good to be true…it really was. This time, all things good and green were staying that way._

_There was one sore spot in our marriage, though: children. Nick and I wanted one child to ourselves at least, to keep Michael happy and keep him company also. We both didn't want him to be an only child in the Stokes family (Nick having finally adapted him, Michael gladly taking him as his father and visiting his half-siblings, Karen's three children) and tried, even before we married, to conceive a child. I even forgo all forms of birth control and tried, but we kept failing._

_Finally, in late 2009, I was happy to tell Nick that I was finally pregnant with our only child. Christmastime that year was tight: I was a full time housewife (my new "job" that seemed to have a new spin on it every single day) and he was still working at the lab. At the time, Grissom left, Sara was at the lab on and off (she had, in the meantime, married Grissom, like we all thought) and Catherine became the supervisor, Nick her assistant. One Ray Langston had joined the team to replace Grissom and, time and again, disappointment followed another. Times changed. Langston proved himself to be a capable C.S.I. and we all knew it. But, somehow, I knew that he wasn't going to last…and he didn't. Two years later, he left due to circumstances I dare not say out loud, even to myself. And in came D.B. Russell, who took Catherine's job as supervisor._

_In the meantime, I had my own plans to make with Nick (suffering from emotional strain and needing a break, going through therapy many times and in my arms crying when we were sleeping together at night). Michael was already five years old, in Kindergarten and running around, excited to have a family at long last. Having a little brother or sister made him smile and it was contagious. Even Nick had to grin. We were a _family_ now. And he couldn't forget it this time. There couldn't be room for division anymore._

_Our lives soon became more perfect. Our first and only daughter, Danielle Celeste Stokes, was born on May 16, 2010, when I was thirty-six years old and Nick was almost thirty-nine. And the circle – the one that we had wanted for so long now and had finally achieved in the time given to us – had run its course and had completed itself. We were a complete family now._

_There is so much to say about the years we've been together. Since 2003 – when I first came back to Vegas and came to know who Nick really was – I had been tangled and enmeshed into spider webs that could stick me…but chose not to in the very end. I had stepped out of that role finally and became myself: Maggie Stokes, a housewife, mother of two and happily married._

_There are always problems, of course. Nick and I fight it out every once in a while because we're under so much strain. But, we know in our hearts that this isn't the end anymore. I wasn't going to run away anymore and he wasn't going to turn his back in me anymore. Death would do us part, after all._

_Oh, hell, each ending has a new beginning. I don't know where it'll end up with each new pathway, but at least I now know that I can stand up on my own two feet and face each new day as a new beginning. I can handle my husband and children without trying to hide in a corner. I can stand up to our problems, bring up up-front and know that we can solve them together._

_My ending _is_ my beginning. That much I know now. That much I can now face._

_And that could finally be the story of my life._


End file.
